Reckitt Benckiser (RKT) News Today, 27 November 2025: JPMorgan Target Hike and Fresh Buyback Keep £1bn Programme in Focus

London, 27 November 2025 – Reckitt Benckiser Group plc (LON:RKT), the maker of Dettol, Durex and Lysol, is back in the spotlight today as it discloses another share repurchase under its ongoing £1 billion buyback, while analysts continue to edge price targets higher following a strong third quarter.

New buyback disclosed today: Reckitt has repurchased 59,420 ordinary shares from BNP Paribas SA, with the shares held in treasury and total voting rights now at 673,265,438. ^[1]
Additional RNS this week: A regulatory filing shows 59,770 shares were bought back on 25 November 2025 at a volume‑weighted average price of 5,854.93p, again held in treasury. ^[2]
Part of a £1bn 2025 buyback: Reckitt completed a first £250m tranche (4.45m shares at £56.23) and began a second £250m tranche on 22 October 2025, both under a wider £1bn share repurchase programme announced in July. ^[3]
Broker action this week: JPMorgan has raised its price target on Reckitt to 6,100p from 5,500p, maintaining a neutral rating. ^[4]
Bernstein staying bullish: On 25 November, Bernstein reiterated its Buy rating with a 6,500p target price. ^[5]
Solid fundamentals underneath: Q3 2025 showed 7.0% like‑for‑like group revenue growth, with emerging markets up 15.5% and full‑year guidance for 3–4% group LFL growth reaffirmed. ^[6]
Strategic reshaping continues: The company is progressing the sale of its Essential Home business to Advent at an enterprise value of up to US$4.8bn, retaining a 30% stake and targeting completion by year‑end 2025. ^[7]

RKT share price today: steady near recent highs

Data from MarketScreener and other analyst platforms shows Reckitt Benckiser shares trading around 5,860p today, leaving the stock up just over 20% year‑to‑date after a strong rebound through the autumn. ^[8]

That recovery has been driven by:

A clean beat on Q3 expectations
Growing confidence in the group’s pivot toward higher‑margin health and hygiene brands
The signalling power of the large‑scale £1bn buyback

While intraday moves are being buffeted by broader FTSE 100 sentiment, the stock remains in the upper part of its 52‑week range, which helps explain why some brokers are nudging targets up but not yet calling it unequivocally cheap. TS2 Tech

Fresh buyback disclosure on 27 November 2025

The newest piece of company‑specific news today is another small but telling buyback instalment.

According to an auto‑generated report from TipRanks based on the latest regulatory filing, Reckitt has: ^[9]

Repurchased 59,420 ordinary shares from BNP Paribas SA
Chosen to hold the shares in treasury, rather than cancelling them immediately
Updated its total voting rights to 673,265,438, which investors can use as the denominator for any disclosure thresholds

The transaction itself is modest in size – roughly a few million pounds at current prices – but it reinforces the message that management is committed to running the buyback day‑in, day‑out, rather than as a one‑off headline grabber.

RNS this week: 59,770‑share repurchase at ~5,855p

Today’s update follows a Regulatory News Service (RNS) announcement published on 26 November. In that filing, Reckitt confirmed that on 25 November 2025 it: ^[10]

Repurchased 59,770 shares
Paid a volume‑weighted average price of 5,854.93p, with a range between 5,828p and 5,878p
Increased its treasury stock to 58,764,481 shares
Left 673,324,858 ordinary shares in issue (excluding treasury shares), equivalent to the same number of voting rights at that point

This is one of a string of near‑daily “Transaction in Own Shares” notices stretching back through October and November, as Reckitt steadily executes the second tranche of its 2025 programme. ^[11]

Inside Reckitt’s £1bn 2025 share buyback programme

Reckitt’s recent flurry of small repurchases sits within a much larger capital‑return framework: a £1 billion buyback programme unveiled in July 2025. ^[12]

Key milestones so far:

24 July 2025 – Reckitt announces a £1bn share buyback aimed at reducing its share capital, alongside confidence in cash generation following portfolio reshaping. ^[13]
First tranche completed: By 21 October, the company had repurchased 4,445,840 shares at an average price of £56.23 for a total of £250m, cancelling these shares. ^[14]
Second tranche launched: A second £250m tranche began on 22 October 2025, to run until 30 January 2026 at the latest, executed by BNP Paribas as riskless principal. Shares in this phase are being held in treasury with cancellation expected after completion. ^[15]

Combined with the Essential Home divestment (more on that below), the programme underscores management’s intent to simplify the portfolio and return surplus capital while still investing in core growth categories.

Broker activity: JPMorgan target hike, Bernstein still bullish

JPMorgan: target up to 6,100p, rating neutral

In yesterday’s “London Broker Ratings” round‑up from Alliance News, JPMorgan raised its Reckitt Benckiser price target to 6,100p from 5,500p, keeping a neutral stance. ^[16]

The move reflects:

Solid delivery against 2025 guidance
Improved momentum in emerging markets
A more supportive shareholder‑returns story via buybacks

But the neutral rating and relatively modest implied upside suggest JPMorgan believes much of this good news is already reflected in today’s share price. TS2 Tech

Bernstein: Buy rating reiterated at 6,500p

On 25 November 2025, MarketScreener reported that Bernstein analyst Callum Elliott reaffirmed his Buy rating on Reckitt, with a target price of 6,500p. ^[17]

That target implies a higher upside from current levels than JPMorgan’s, signalling that at least some brokers still see the stock as undervalued versus medium‑term fundamentals.

Consensus picture: modest upside, mostly positive stances

According to MarketBeat, the average 12‑month target price for RKT across six analysts sits around 6,109p, with a range from 5,200p to 7,700p and implying roughly 4% upside from a reference price of 5,856p. ^[18]

TipRanks’ rating aggregation shows a cluster of Buy recommendations from houses including HSBC, Redburn Atlantic, Morgan Stanley and Citi, generally with targets in the 5,700p–6,400p band, reinforcing the view of constructive but not euphoric sentiment. ^[19]

Fundamentals: Q3 2025 beat and guidance intact

Broker optimism is framed by a solid set of third‑quarter results released on 22 October 2025. Reckitt’s Q3 2025 trading update and subsequent Reuters coverage highlighted: ^[20]

Group like‑for‑like (LFL) net revenue up 7.0% to £3.61bn
Core Reckitt LFL revenue up 6.7%, driven by a healthy mix of 3.4% volume growth and 3.3% price/mix
Emerging markets as the stand‑out region, with 15.5% LFL growth, helped by strong demand in China
A return to growth in Europe (+0.8% LFL) and 1.3% LFL growth in North America despite a tough comparator
Ongoing strength in categories such as Intimate Wellness and Germ Protection, leveraging innovation in brands like Durex and Dettol

Management reiterated its 2025 outlook, guiding for: ^[21]

Core Reckitt LFL net revenue growth above 4%
Group LFL net revenue growth of 3–4%
Another year of adjusted diluted EPS growth, supported by the “Fuel for Growth” efficiency programme

Together with the buyback, that message of steady, volume‑led growth has helped rebuild investor confidence after a more turbulent 2024.

Strategic reset: Essential Home sale and portfolio focus

Beyond quarterly numbers, one of the biggest structural moves in 2025 has been Reckitt’s decision to sell a majority stake in its Essential Home business – the unit that houses brands like Air Wick and Cillit Bang.

In July 2025, Reckitt announced an agreement with Advent International to divest Essential Home at an enterprise value of up to US$4.8 billion, while retaining a 30% equity stake in the new entity. ^[22]

Key elements of the deal, as reported by the company and international media, include: ^[23]

A clear strategic shift toward higher‑growth, higher‑margin health and hygiene categories
Plans to return a substantial portion of the proceeds to shareholders, including via special dividend and support for the £1bn buyback
Targeted completion by 31 December 2025, subject to regulatory approvals and separation work

The transaction also removes a chunk of lower‑growth home‑care revenue from the consolidated group, which should, over time, make Reckitt’s growth and margin profile cleaner and easier to compare with peers focused on consumer health.

How today’s news fits into the bigger RKT story

Put together, the 27 November 2025 news flow doesn’t radically change the investment case for Reckitt Benckiser – but it adds more pieces to a favourable mosaic:

Execution on promises
- The company is doing exactly what it said it would do in July: shrinking the share count, finishing one buyback tranche and pressing ahead with the second. ^[24]
Analyst support remains constructive
- JPMorgan’s target hike to 6,100p and Bernstein’s reiterated 6,500p target confirm that brokers see fundamental progress, even if short‑term upside from today’s level looks modest on average. ^[25]
Fundamentals back the capital story
- Q3 numbers show broad‑based growth, particularly in emerging markets, and management has not needed to raise guidance to keep the market positive – simply delivering against existing promises has been enough to move the share price higher through 2025. ^[26]
Portfolio simplification is nearing a key milestone
- The Essential Home sale, once completed, will further concentrate Reckitt on its powerbrands and unlock additional capital, reinforcing the case for ongoing shareholder returns. ^[27]

For current and prospective investors, today’s incremental buyback news and broker moves essentially confirm the direction of travel rather than changing it. The debate around RKT now centres on:

How long emerging‑market strength can offset more muted developed‑market growth
Whether the company can continue to innovate and premiumise in categories facing private‑label competition
How much further re‑rating potential is left after a >20% year‑to‑date share price rise

As always, anyone considering an investment in Reckitt Benckiser (or any single stock) should weigh these company‑specific dynamics against their own risk tolerance, time horizon and portfolio diversification needs. This article is for information only and does not constitute investment advice.

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