GSK Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:GSK)

GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders purchased 10,769 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 79% compared to the typical volume of 6,021 put options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GSK

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GSK. FMR LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 2,224,345 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 870,449 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its holdings in GSK by 2.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Provident Trust Co. raised its position in GSK by 1.7% in the third quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 3,953,602 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $161,623,000 after purchasing an additional 66,765 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of GSK by 30.8% in the third 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. 15.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

GSK Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of GSK traded down $0.58 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $32.12. The company had a trading volume of 6,250,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,520,122. GSK has a fifty-two week low of $31.72 and a fifty-two week high of $45.92. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.12. The stock has a market cap of $66.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.3928 per share. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. GSK’s payout ratio is 95.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GSK has been the subject of several research reports. Guggenheim cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, GSK currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.25.

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.