GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $43.25.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of GSK from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Guggenheim downgraded GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th.

GSK Stock Performance

NYSE GSK opened at $33.08 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $34.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.17. The firm has a market cap of $68.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.48, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.53. GSK has a 1 year low of $32.83 and a 1 year high of $45.92.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.3928 per share. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.75%. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GSK

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GSK. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of GSK by 195.5% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 789 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank grew its stake in GSK by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 85,052 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,876,000 after buying an additional 1,853 shares in the last quarter. InvesTrust bought a new stake in GSK during the 4th quarter valued at $3,422,000. Innova Wealth Partners purchased a new stake in shares of GSK during the fourth quarter worth $306,000. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of GSK in the fourth quarter worth $287,000. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by 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.