GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.25.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on GSK in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. StockNews.com raised GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th.

Institutional Trading of GSK

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dodge & Cox increased its stake in GSK by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 68,440,912 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,314,672,000 after buying an additional 353,749 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of GSK by 82.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 52,823,032 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,786,475,000 after acquiring an additional 23,814,104 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its position in shares of GSK by 70.1% during the fourth quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 25,261,660 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $854,349,000 after acquiring an additional 10,407,905 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of GSK by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,836,797 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $637,061,000 after acquiring an additional 259,867 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in GSK by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,566,922 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $255,914,000 after purchasing an additional 35,134 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Stock Performance

NYSE GSK opened at $38.46 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $35.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. GSK has a twelve month low of $31.72 and a twelve month high of $45.92. The company has a market capitalization of $79.70 billion, a PE ratio of 24.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 48.59%. On average, research analysts predict that GSK will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.3932 dividend. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.74%.

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.