Reckitt Benckiser stock hits a 52-week high as £1.6bn special dividend clock starts

London, Jan 10, 2026, 08:36 GMT — Market closed

Reckitt shares ended Friday up 0.1% at 6,176 pence after touching a 12-month high of 6,262 pence
Investors are tracking a proposed 235 pence special dividend and a 24-for-25 share consolidation in coming weeks
Next dates in focus include a shareholder vote on Jan. 27 and full-year results on March 5

Reckitt Benckiser Group plc shares closed Friday up 0.1% at 6,176 pence after touching a 12-month high of 6,262 pence, as investors weighed an imminent cash return and the mechanics around it. The stock is up about 3.2% over the past week, data showed. (Hargreaves Lansdown)

The market is shut for the weekend, but the timetable is the story now. A one-off payout and an accompanying share consolidation can shift the quoted price in early February even if the underlying value is unchanged, and that tends to pull in short-term positioning.

Reckitt said this week it planned a special dividend — a one-off payout on top of regular dividends — of 235 pence a share, alongside a 24-for-25 share consolidation, which cuts the share count by about 4% while lifting the price per share to offset the distribution. The company’s circular sets a shareholder vote for Jan. 27 and says the shares will be marked “ex-special dividend” on Feb. 2, meaning buyers from that point are no longer entitled to the payout; the cash is due on Feb. 20, subject to approval. (Investegate)

The group has also kept buying stock. Reckitt said it repurchased 49,000 shares on Jan. 8 at a volume-weighted average price of 6,112.19 pence, and will hold the shares in treasury. (Investegate)

The climb has not happened in a vacuum. On Thursday, Reckitt rose 1.92% while the FTSE 100 edged lower, and the stock printed a fresh 52-week high in that session, according to market data. (MarketWatch)

The cash return follows the end-2025 completion of Reckitt’s sale of a majority stake in its Essential Home business to Advent International, while retaining a 30% stake. Chief executive Kris Licht called the deal “a major step forward” as the group shifts toward a “simpler” consumer health and hygiene business. (Reckitt)

But the near-term setup is not risk-free. Shareholder approval is still required, and the share price normally adjusts when a stock goes ex-dividend, even when a consolidation is designed to smooth the move. A wobble in broader equities could also drown out the corporate-action trade.

After the vote and the early-February reset, investors will turn to operations again: Reckitt is due to report full-year results on March 5. (Reckitt)

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