Intertek Group (LON:ITRK) Stock Price Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Intertek Group plc (LON:ITRK - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of GBX 4,916.34 ($62.82) and traded as high as GBX 4,944 ($63.17). Intertek Group shares last traded at GBX 4,810.74 ($61.47), with a volume of 771,987 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ITRK shares. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on shares of Intertek Group from GBX 5,800 ($74.11) to GBX 6,000 ($76.67) and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Shore Capital upgraded shares of Intertek Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of GBX 5,675 ($72.51).

Intertek Group Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of £6.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.47, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 103.83. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of GBX 5,037.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 4,898.52.

Intertek Group (LON:ITRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported GBX 242.60 ($3.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Intertek Group had a return on equity of 23.46% and a net margin of 9.19%. Sell-side analysts expect that Intertek Group plc will post 263.7305699 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Intertek Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th will be given a GBX 102.60 ($1.31) dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.11%. This is an increase from Intertek Group's previous dividend of $53.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 29th. Intertek Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.71%.

Insider Activity at Intertek Group

In other Intertek Group news, insider Andre Lacroix sold 39,498 shares of Intertek Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 4,994 ($63.81), for a total value of £1,972,530.12 ($2,520,483.16). Also, insider Steven L. Mogford acquired 121 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 4,892 ($62.51) per share, with a total value of £5,919.32 ($7,563.66). Corporate insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

About Intertek Group

Intertek is a leading Total Quality Assurance provider to industries worldwide. Our network of more than 1,000 laboratories and offices in more than 100 countries, delivers innovative and bespoke Assurance, Testing, Inspection and Certification solutions for our customers' operations and supply chains. Intertek is a purpose-led company to Bring Quality, Safety and Sustainability to Life.