Brokerages Set GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Price Target at $43.25

Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $43.25.

GSK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Guggenheim cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays raised GSK to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Argus raised GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th.

GSK Price Performance

GSK stock opened at $33.36 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company has a market capitalization of $69.14 billion, a PE ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.66. GSK has a one year low of $32.83 and a one year high of $45.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.49.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.3928 per share. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other GSK news, major shareholder Plc Gsk purchased 2,791,930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $8.00 per share, with a total value of $22,335,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,775,691 shares in the company, valued at $134,205,528. The trade was a 19.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 10.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GSK

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in GSK by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,008,928 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,185,885,000 after buying an additional 2,224,345 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in GSK by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,576,930 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $759,425,000 after buying an additional 870,449 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its position in shares of GSK by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 14,853,755 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $607,222,000 after purchasing an additional 342,365 shares in the last quarter. Provident Trust Co. grew its position in shares of GSK by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 3,953,602 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $161,623,000 after purchasing an additional 66,765 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of GSK by 30.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,542,143 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $144,803,000 after purchasing an additional 833,080 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

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.