Diploma PLC (LON:DPLM) Insider Acquires £167,647.60 in Stock

Diploma PLC (LON:DPLM) insider Chris Davies bought 3,917 shares of Diploma stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 4,280 ($53.68) per share, with a total value of £167,647.60 ($210,269.16).

Diploma Stock Performance

Shares of DPLM opened at GBX 4,292 ($53.83) on Thursday. Diploma PLC has a 1 year low of GBX 3,200 ($40.14) and a 1 year high of GBX 4,653 ($58.36). The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 45.69, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is GBX 4,406.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 4,327.13. The firm has a market cap of £5.75 billion, a PE ratio of 4,990.70, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.75.

Diploma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 16th will be given a dividend of GBX 42 ($0.53) per share. This represents a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 16th. This is a positive change from Diploma’s previous dividend of $17.30. Diploma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6,627.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DPLM. Shore Capital downgraded Diploma to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Diploma from GBX 4,150 ($52.05) to GBX 4,370 ($54.81) and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 5,100 ($63.97) price objective on shares of Diploma in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Diploma has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of GBX 4,555 ($57.13).

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.