GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $43.25.

GSK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded GSK from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Guggenheim downgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays raised shares of GSK to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Plc Gsk bought 2,791,930 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.00 per share, for a total transaction of $22,335,440.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 16,775,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $134,205,528. This represents a 19.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 10.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of GSK

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its position in GSK by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 34,438 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304 shares during the period. Logan Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in GSK by 3.8% during the third quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 83,923 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,431,000 after buying an additional 3,083 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in GSK by 8.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 235,348 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,052,000 after buying an additional 18,539 shares in the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC raised its stake in GSK by 3.7% in the third quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 49,554 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,026,000 after buying an additional 1,790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in GSK during the 3rd quarter valued at $787,000. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

GSK Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE GSK opened at $33.43 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. GSK has a 12-month low of $32.83 and a 12-month high of $45.92. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $35.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.64.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.3928 per share. This is a positive change from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.70%. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.70%.

GSK Company Profile

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.