GSK (NYSE:GSK) Cut to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of GSK (NYSE:GSK) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on GSK. Barclays raised shares of GSK to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Guggenheim lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, GSK presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.25.

GSK Stock Up 0.5 %

GSK stock opened at $33.60 on Friday. GSK has a fifty-two week low of $32.83 and a fifty-two week high of $45.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $35.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81.

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 paid a dividend of $0.3928 per share. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This is a positive change from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.70%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Plc Gsk bought 2,791,930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.00 per share, with a total value of $22,335,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,775,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $134,205,528. The trade was a 19.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 10.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GSK

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of GSK by 73.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 711 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in GSK by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,542 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in GSK by 2.0% in the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,693 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $682,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in GSK by 6.3% during the second quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,535 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $213,000 after buying an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its stake in GSK by 6.3% during the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 5,608 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.