Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on GSK (NYSE:GSK)

GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders purchased 9,012 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 48% compared to the typical volume of 6,099 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley started coverage on GSK in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GSK

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GSK. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co increased its position in GSK by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 750 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of GSK during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of GSK by 195.5% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 789 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of GSK by 73.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 711 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in GSK in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 15.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

GSK Stock Performance

GSK opened at $40.30 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.99. GSK has a 52-week low of $31.72 and a 52-week high of $45.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.53 billion, a PE ratio of 25.35, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last announced 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 return on equity of 48.59% and a net margin of 8.13%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that GSK will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.3932 dividend. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.74%.

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.