Haleon (NYSE:HLN) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Haleon plc (NYSE:HLN) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 10,265,774 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 28% from the previous session’s volume of 8,041,837 shares.The stock last traded at $10.94 and had previously closed at $10.88.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Haleon in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised Haleon from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $11.25 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Haleon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Haleon in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Haleon in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.25.

Haleon Trading Up 0.8%

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $10.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.87. The company has a market capitalization of $49.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Haleon (NYSE:HLN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter. Haleon had a net margin of 10.85% and a return on equity of 14.76%. The company had revenue of $3.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.38 billion. Research analysts predict that Haleon plc will post 0.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Haleon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be issued a $0.1166 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This is an increase from Haleon’s previous — dividend of $0.05. This represents a dividend yield of 1.6%. Haleon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.97%.

Institutional Trading of Haleon

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HLN. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Haleon by 29.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,071,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,758,000 after acquiring an additional 475,934 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its stake in Haleon by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 47,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 2,758 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Haleon by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 850,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,114,000 after buying an additional 99,666 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Haleon by 99.2% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 26,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 13,142 shares during the period. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in Haleon by 128.1% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 59,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $565,000 after purchasing an additional 33,249 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 6.67% of the company’s stock.

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.