Pearson boss stocks up

Marjorie Scardino, Chief Executive of Financial Times publisher Pearson, has marked her fifteenth anniversary in the role with the purchase of 374 American Depository Receipts (ADRs).

ADRs represent the ownership of shares in a non-US company. The purchase was made as part the firm's employee stock purchase plan, which gives employees the opportunity to purchase ordinary shares in Pearson at a discount.

According to the stock exchange statement, Scardino paid $16.04 per share.

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Earlier this week analysts at broker Credit Suisse raised their price target on Pearson by 9% to 1,175p, saying the publisher remains their, "preferred long-term Professional Publisher for quality."

The positive comments are partly the result of the fact Pearson shares, which are up 20% in the past year, are now trading at a 5% premium to the sector average, and at 14.2 times the estimated price-to-earnings multiple for 2012.

Last month the group proposed the sale of its 50% stake in FTSE International for £450m, and proposed to acquire Global Education in China for $155m. Soon after Scardino, 64, sold a total of £572,752-worth of shares in the firm.

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