Haleon (NYSE:HLN) Upgraded at Argus

Argus upgraded shares of Haleon (NYSE:HLN) to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on HLN. HSBC upgraded Haleon from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Haleon in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Haleon in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Haleon from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Haleon in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.33.

Haleon Stock Performance

HLN stock opened at $10.24 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $45.59 billion, a PE ratio of 26.24 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $10.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.87. Haleon has a 1-year low of $8.71 and a 1-year high of $11.42.

Haleon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a $0.1307 dividend. This represents a yield of 251.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Haleon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Haleon

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Haleon by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 21,495,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,318,000 after purchasing an additional 2,962,856 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Haleon in the fourth quarter valued at $163,529,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Haleon by 116.7% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,384,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,423,000 after buying an additional 6,669,923 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Haleon by 36.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,984,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,503,000 after buying an additional 3,207,986 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sculptor Capital LP increased its position in shares of Haleon by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 10,454,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,699,000 after acquiring an additional 505,000 shares in the last quarter. 6.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Haleon

Haleon plc (NYSE:HLN) is a global consumer healthcare company formed through the separation of a large pharmaceutical group’s consumer health business in 2022. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, Haleon develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of over‑the‑counter medicines, oral health products, vitamins, minerals and supplements, and other consumer health goods designed for daily self‑care and symptom relief.

The company’s product mix spans categories such as oral care (toothpastes and sensitivity treatments), pain relief and analgesics, respiratory remedies, digestive health products, topical treatments and nutritional supplements.