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

GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.25.

Several research firms recently commented on GSK. Morgan Stanley began coverage on GSK in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. StockNews.com raised GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th.

Institutional Trading of GSK

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,224,345 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in GSK by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,576,930 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $759,425,000 after purchasing an additional 870,449 shares in the last quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in GSK by 14.3% in 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 grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of GSK by 9.7% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 604,973 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $24,731,000 after purchasing an additional 53,440 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:GSK opened at $38.74 on Friday. GSK has a 1 year low of $31.72 and a 1 year high of $45.93. The company has a market capitalization of $80.19 billion, a PE ratio of 24.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $37.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 48.59%. Analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.3932 dividend. This is a positive change from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.