Brokerages Set GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Price Target at $43.25

Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $43.25.

GSK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Guggenheim cut shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays upgraded shares of GSK to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $39.50 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Argus raised GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th.

Insider Activity at GSK

In related news, major shareholder Plc Gsk bought 2,791,930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.00 per share, for a total transaction of $22,335,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,775,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $134,205,528. The trade was a 19.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 10.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GSK

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GSK. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of GSK in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in GSK by 73.8% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 711 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners grew its stake in GSK by 231.8% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 783 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of GSK during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of GSK during the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. 15.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

GSK Price Performance

GSK stock opened at $33.96 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81. GSK has a 52 week low of $32.83 and a 52 week high of $45.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $38.09 and a 200-day moving average of $40.37.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.3928 per share. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.70%.

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.