GSK (NYSE:GSK) Price Target Raised to $53.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

GSK (NYSE:GSK) had its target price increased by Jefferies Financial Group from $52.50 to $53.00 in a research note released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Citigroup raised GSK to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on GSK in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a neutral rating and a $47.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim raised GSK from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised GSK to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, GSK presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $50.00.

GSK Price Performance

Shares of GSK stock opened at $38.21 on Tuesday. GSK has a 52-week low of $33.67 and a 52-week high of $45.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $42.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.24.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.15. GSK had a return on equity of 51.54% and a net margin of 14.62%. The firm had revenue of $9.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.98 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that GSK will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $0.3762 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GSK. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN grew its stake in GSK by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 3,961 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in GSK by 305.7% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 118,233 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,383,000 after purchasing an additional 89,089 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in GSK in the 4th quarter worth about $1,129,000. Thomasville National Bank raised its holdings in GSK by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 453,795 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $19,454,000 after purchasing an additional 23,022 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of GSK by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,777,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $65,883,000 after acquiring an additional 18,585 shares during the last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.