GSK (NYSE:GSK) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $40.39, but opened at $39.55. GSK shares last traded at $39.67, with a volume of 456,924 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on GSK shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of GSK in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.25.

GSK Trading Down 0.3 %

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $36.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market cap of $81.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last issued its quarterly 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that GSK plc will post 4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.3932 per share. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.99%. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is 98.74%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its position in GSK by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,008,928 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,185,885,000 after buying an additional 2,224,345 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position 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. Clifford Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in GSK by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC now owns 409,669 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $16,747,000 after purchasing an additional 51,378 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in GSK by 61.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 433,628 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $17,728,000 after purchasing an additional 165,556 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in GSK by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 604,973 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $24,731,000 after purchasing an additional 53,440 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.