The Goldman Sachs Group Begins Coverage on GSK (NYSE:GSK)

The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of GSK (NYSE:GSK) in a research report report published on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $47.00 price target on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

GSK has been the topic of several other reports. Guggenheim upgraded shares of GSK from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Citigroup upgraded shares of GSK from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $47.00.

GSK Stock Performance

NYSE:GSK opened at $44.77 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.22, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s 50-day moving average is $42.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.55. GSK has a 1-year low of $33.33 and a 1-year high of $45.92.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.15. GSK had a net margin of 14.62% and a return on equity of 51.54%. The firm had revenue of $9.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.98 billion. Analysts forecast that GSK will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.3762 per share. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.26%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GSK

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in GSK by 2,816.7% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 700 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 676 shares during the period. Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in GSK during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in GSK during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in GSK during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of GSK in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 15.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.