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

GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $43.25.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Plc Gsk purchased 2,791,930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.00 per share, with a total value of $22,335,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,775,691 shares in the company, valued at $134,205,528. This trade represents a 19.97 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 10.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

GSK Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:GSK opened at $34.17 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.64. GSK has a 1-year low of $32.83 and a 1-year high of $45.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.3928 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. 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 dividend yield of 4.60%. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is 98.70%.

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.