GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company.

Several research firms have recently commented on GSK. Morgan Stanley started coverage on GSK in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Citigroup raised GSK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded GSK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th.

GSK Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:GSK opened at $43.50 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $90.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.76, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $41.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.14. GSK has a 1 year low of $33.33 and a 1 year high of $43.84.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.04). GSK had a net margin of 14.62% and a return on equity of 51.54%. The company had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.79 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that GSK will post 4.13 earnings per share for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $0.3762 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of GSK by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 28,243 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,570 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of GSK by 3.9% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 528,658 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $19,164,000 after purchasing an additional 19,889 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of GSK by 5.5% during the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 160,159 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,806,000 after purchasing an additional 8,327 shares during the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of GSK by 6.9% in the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,346 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of GSK by 17.6% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 307,057 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,131,000 after buying an additional 45,890 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

About GSK

GSK plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research, development, and manufacture of vaccines, and specialty and general medicines to prevent and treat disease in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Commercial Operations and Total R&D.