GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Receives $50.00 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $50.00.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Argus raised shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup raised GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of GSK from $52.50 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Berenberg Bank raised GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Barclays upgraded GSK to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th.

GSK Price Performance

NYSE:GSK opened at $38.82 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $41.57 and its 200 day moving average is $41.50. GSK has a 12 month low of $33.67 and a 12 month high of $45.92. The company has a market capitalization of $80.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.09. GSK had a return on equity of 51.48% and a net margin of 12.87%. The business had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.49 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that GSK will post 4.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $0.3843 dividend. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.71%.

Insider Activity at GSK

In related news, major shareholder Plc Gsk purchased 2,791,930 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $8.00 per share, for a total transaction of $22,335,440.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 16,775,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $134,205,528. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 10.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GSK

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd boosted its position in GSK by 71.3% in the 1st quarter. JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd now owns 21,141,012 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $909,063,000 after buying an additional 8,800,822 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of GSK by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 15,036,881 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $557,267,000 after purchasing an additional 1,436,488 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its position in GSK by 13.9% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 14,511,390 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $558,689,000 after buying an additional 1,773,020 shares during the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD boosted its position in shares of GSK by 37.8% in the 1st quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 5,510,840 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $236,250,000 after purchasing an additional 1,512,442 shares during the period. Finally, Equity Investment Corp lifted its position in shares of GSK by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 3,433,202 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $132,178,000 after acquiring an additional 34,631 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

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.