GSK (NYSE:GSK) Cut to “Neutral” at Guggenheim

Guggenheim lowered shares of GSK (NYSE:GSK) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note published on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group cut shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Barclays upgraded shares of GSK to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, GSK presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.00.

GSK Price Performance

GSK opened at $36.88 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.04. GSK has a 52-week low of $33.67 and a 52-week high of $45.92.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.3928 dividend. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is 100.00%.

Insider Transactions at GSK

In other news, major shareholder Plc Gsk bought 2,791,930 shares of GSK stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.00 per share, with a total value of $22,335,440.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 16,775,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $134,205,528. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 10.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GSK

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in GSK by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,693 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $682,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC increased its holdings in GSK by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 140,735 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,753,000 after acquiring an additional 4,430 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in GSK by 137.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 19,795 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $809,000 after acquiring an additional 11,448 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in GSK by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,823 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 1,402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Bank grew its holdings in GSK by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 25,785 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,054,000 after buying an additional 1,760 shares in the last quarter. 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.