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

Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $43.25.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GSK. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com raised GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Guggenheim cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays raised shares of GSK to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th.

GSK Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:GSK opened at $33.95 on Friday. GSK has a 1 year low of $32.83 and a 1 year high of $45.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $36.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.21. The stock has a market cap of $70.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.05, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.64.

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 given a $0.3928 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.63%. GSK’s payout ratio is 99.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of GSK

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC grew its position in GSK by 8.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,008,928 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,185,885,000 after acquiring an additional 2,224,345 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its holdings in shares of GSK by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 14,511,390 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $558,689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,773,020 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of GSK during the 2nd quarter valued at about $52,487,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of GSK by 4.9% during 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. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 833,080 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.