GSK (NYSE:GSK) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Strong-Buy Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of GSK (NYSE:GSK) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on GSK. Guggenheim cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.25.

GSK Stock Performance

Shares of GSK stock opened at $34.08 on Friday. GSK has a 12 month low of $32.83 and a 12 month 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. The stock has a market cap of $70.63 billion, a PE ratio of 22.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.66.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.61%. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. GSK’s payout ratio is presently 98.70%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GSK. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in GSK by 8.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,008,928 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,185,885,000 after acquiring an additional 2,224,345 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 870,449 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its stake in 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 during the period. Provident Trust Co. grew its holdings in GSK by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 3,953,602 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $161,623,000 after buying an additional 66,765 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its position in GSK by 30.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,542,143 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $144,803,000 after buying an additional 833,080 shares during the period. 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.