Marathon Partners Equity Management LLC Takes Position in Haleon plc (NYSE:HLN)

Marathon Partners Equity Management LLC purchased a new position in Haleon plc (NYSE:HLN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 125,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,192,000. Haleon comprises approximately 1.0% of Marathon Partners Equity Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Haleon in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Haleon during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. FIL Ltd boosted its stake in Haleon by 45.7% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 4,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,270 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Haleon during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Haleon by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 4,954 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,106 shares in the last quarter. 6.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Haleon Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:HLN opened at $10.71 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $10.21 and a 200 day moving average of $9.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.49, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.24. Haleon plc has a 52 week low of $8.24 and a 52 week high of $10.85.

Haleon (NYSE:HLN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter. Haleon had a return on equity of 14.76% and a net margin of 10.85%. The company had revenue of $3.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.38 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Haleon plc will post 0.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Haleon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a -- dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.1166 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This is a positive change from Haleon's previous -- dividend of $0.05. Haleon's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on HLN shares. HSBC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Haleon in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Haleon from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $11.25 price objective for the company in a report on Friday. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Haleon from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Haleon in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Haleon in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Haleon currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $11.25.

About Haleon

Haleon plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of various consumer healthcare products in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. The company provides oral health products, such as toothpastes, mouth washes, and denture care products under the Sensodyne, Polident, Parodontax, Biotene brands; and vitamins, minerals, and supplements under Centrum, Emergen-C, Caltrate brands.

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