GSK Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:GSK)

GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders purchased 11,285 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 184% compared to the average daily volume of 3,973 put options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GSK

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in GSK by 2,816.7% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 700 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 676 shares during the period. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of GSK during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of GSK by 271.8% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 885 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of GSK during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of GSK during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GSK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of GSK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of GSK in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Citigroup raised shares of GSK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Guggenheim raised shares of GSK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

GSK Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GSK opened at $41.24 on Wednesday. GSK has a twelve month low of $33.33 and a twelve month high of $43.84. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.90. The company has a market capitalization of $85.47 billion, a PE ratio of 13.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.79 billion. GSK had a return on equity of 51.45% and a net margin of 16.24%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that GSK will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.3564 dividend. This represents a $1.43 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.82%.

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.