GSK (NYSE:GSK) Downgraded by UBS Group

UBS Group downgraded shares of GSK (NYSE:GSK) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note published on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

GSK has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup raised GSK to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on GSK in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a neutral rating and a $47.00 price objective on the stock. Berenberg Bank upgraded GSK to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on GSK from $52.50 to $53.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $50.00.

GSK Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GSK opened at $38.91 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.29. GSK has a twelve month low of $33.67 and a twelve month high of $45.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.15. GSK had a net margin of 14.62% and a return on equity of 51.54%. The company had revenue of $9.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.98 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that GSK will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were given a dividend of $0.3762 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. This is a positive change from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN increased its holdings in GSK by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 3,961 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of GSK by 305.7% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 118,233 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,383,000 after buying an additional 89,089 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of GSK during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,129,000. Thomasville National Bank lifted its stake in GSK by 5.3% in the first quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 453,795 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $19,454,000 after acquiring an additional 23,022 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in GSK by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,777,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $65,883,000 after acquiring an additional 18,585 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.