Bunzl plc (LON:BNZL) Insider Acquires £198,239.02 in Stock

Bunzl plc (LON:BNZL) insider Richard Howes bought 8,479 shares of Bunzl stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 2,338 ($31.09) per share, for a total transaction of £198,239.02 ($263,580.67).

Bunzl Stock Up 0.4 %

BNZL stock opened at GBX 2,298.35 ($30.56) on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 123.00. The business has a 50 day moving average of GBX 3,048.53 and a 200 day moving average of GBX 3,310.27. Bunzl plc has a twelve month low of GBX 2,218 ($29.49) and a twelve month high of GBX 3,732 ($49.62). The firm has a market cap of £7.52 billion, a PE ratio of 15.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.45.

Bunzl (LON:BNZL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported GBX 194.30 ($2.58) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Bunzl had a return on equity of 16.82% and a net margin of 4.20%. On average, research analysts forecast that Bunzl plc will post 213.3413462 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bunzl Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a GBX 53.80 ($0.72) dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is an increase from Bunzl’s previous dividend of $20.10. Bunzl’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup upgraded Bunzl to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Shore Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Bunzl in a research report on Monday, March 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of GBX 3,375 ($44.87).

About Bunzl

Bunzl plc operates as a distribution and services company in the North America, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and internationally. The company offers food packaging, films, labels, cleaning and hygiene supplies, and personal protection equipment to grocery stores, supermarkets, and convenience stores.