Insider Buying: Diploma PLC (LON:DPLM) Insider Acquires 750 Shares of Stock

Diploma PLC (LON:DPLM) insider David S. Lowden bought 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 3,928 ($50.57) per share, for a total transaction of £29,460 ($37,929.70).

Diploma Price Performance

LON:DPLM opened at GBX 3,960 ($50.98) on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 62.17. The firm has a market cap of £5.28 billion, a PE ratio of 45.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.75. Diploma PLC has a 12 month low of GBX 3,468 ($44.65) and a 12 month high of GBX 4,808 ($61.90). The company’s 50-day moving average price is GBX 4,379.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 4,376.57.

Diploma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, January 16th were given a dividend of GBX 42 ($0.54) per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 16th. This is a positive change from Diploma’s previous dividend of $17.30. This represents a yield of 0.93%. Diploma’s dividend payout ratio is 65.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Diploma from GBX 4,370 ($56.26) to GBX 4,420 ($56.91) and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of GBX 4,567.50 ($58.81).

About Diploma

Diploma PLC, together with its subsidiaries, supplies specialized technical products and services in the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, North America, and internationally. It operates through three business sectors: Life Sciences, Seals, and Controls. The Life Sciences sector supplies technology-enabled products used in surgical procedures in operating theatres and endoscopy; testing equipment and services for clinical laboratories; and bio-pharma, food safety and testing, and other research-oriented products.