Insider Selling: Marks and Spencer Group (LON:MKS) Insider Sells £2,151,943.68 in Stock

Key Points

• Insider sale: Marks and Spencer Group insider Stuart Machin sold 560,402 shares on July 8 for about £2.15 million, at an average price of GBX 384.
• Stock snapshot: MKS opened at GBX 374.37 and has traded between a 1-year low of GBX 301.10 and a high of GBX 411.80. The company currently has a market cap of about £7.69 billion.
• Analyst view remains positive: Despite the insider sale, analysts still largely rate the stock a Moderate Buy, with six Buy ratings and a consensus price target of GBX 418.57.

Marks and Spencer Group plc (LON:MKS - Get Free Report) insider Stuart Machin sold 560,402 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 384, for a total value of £2,151,943.68.

Marks and Spencer Group Price Performance

Shares of LON MKS opened at GBX 374.37 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of £7.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 111.89. Marks and Spencer Group plc has a 1-year low of GBX 301.10 and a 1-year high of GBX 411.80. The business's 50 day moving average is GBX 355.10 and its 200-day moving average is GBX 357.47.

Marks and Spencer Group (LON:MKS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported GBX 23.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Marks and Spencer Group had a return on equity of 8.86% and a net margin of 1.50%.The business had revenue of GBX 1,727.36 billion during the quarter. Equities research analysts predict that Marks and Spencer Group plc will post 26.0113154 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on MKS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and issued a GBX 435 price target on shares of Marks and Spencer Group in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Marks and Spencer Group from GBX 410 to GBX 390 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Berenberg Bank increased their target price on shares of Marks and Spencer Group from GBX 415 to GBX 480 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a GBX 425 target price on shares of Marks and Spencer Group in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Shore Capital Group reaffirmed a "house stock" rating on shares of Marks and Spencer Group in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of GBX 418.57.

About Marks and Spencer Group

M&S has a heritage of quality, innovation and value for money and has been voted the UK's most trusted brand. From these foundations, M&S is reshaping for sustainable profitable growth and value creation. We operate as a family of businesses, selling high-quality, great-value, own-brand products and services, alongside a carefully selected range of third-party brands. We do this through a network of stores and websites globally, and together, across our stores, support centres, warehouses and supply chain, our 65,000 colleagues serve over 30 million customers each year.

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