GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim upgraded shares of GSK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of GSK in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup upgraded GSK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GSK

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd lifted its position in GSK by 71.3% during the 1st quarter. JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd now owns 21,141,012 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $909,063,000 after acquiring an additional 8,800,822 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of GSK by 7.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,099,513 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $656,107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291,161 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in GSK by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 15,065,558 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $558,330,000 after buying an additional 1,465,165 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its stake in GSK by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 12,089,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $448,032,000 after buying an additional 30,600 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in GSK by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,079,897 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $292,896,000 after buying an additional 389,871 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Price Performance

GSK stock opened at $44.15 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $91.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.65. GSK has a fifty-two week low of $33.33 and a fifty-two week high of $44.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $41.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.30.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.3762 per share. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.61%.

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.