Pearson (LON:PSON) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average of $964.02

Pearson plc (LON:PSON - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of GBX 964.02 ($12.00) and traded as high as GBX 996.80 ($12.41). Pearson shares last traded at GBX 990.40 ($12.33), with a volume of 1,950,716 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PSON has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Pearson from GBX 1,200 ($14.94) to GBX 1,220 ($15.19) and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Pearson from GBX 975 ($12.14) to GBX 965 ($12.01) and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Shore Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Pearson in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd.

Pearson Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of £6.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,875.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.31. The business has a 50 day moving average price of GBX 998.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of GBX 964.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 30.19, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.73.

Pearson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st will be given a GBX 15.70 ($0.20) dividend. This is a boost from Pearson's previous dividend of $7.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 21st. This represents a dividend yield of 1.63%. Pearson's payout ratio is presently 4,339.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pearson news, insider Graeme Pitkethly acquired 210 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of GBX 1,037 ($12.91) per share, for a total transaction of £2,177.70 ($2,710.94). 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Pearson

Pearson plc offers educational courseware, assessments, and services in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, the Asia Pacific, other European countries, and internationally. The company operates through five segments: Assessment & Qualifications, Virtual Learning, English Language Learning, Workforce Skills, and Higher Education.