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

GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders acquired 10,769 put options on the company. This is an increase of 79% compared to the typical volume of 6,021 put options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GSK

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in GSK by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,008,928 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,185,885,000 after buying an additional 2,224,345 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its stake in shares of GSK by 13.9% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 14,511,390 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $558,689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,773,020 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of GSK during the second quarter valued at $52,487,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of GSK by 4.9% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,576,930 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $759,425,000 after purchasing an additional 870,449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in GSK by 30.8% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,542,143 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $144,803,000 after purchasing an additional 833,080 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Stock Performance

GSK stock traded down $0.58 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $32.12. The company had a trading volume of 6,250,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,520,122. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $34.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.57 billion, a PE ratio of 20.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.63. GSK has a fifty-two week low of $31.72 and a fifty-two week high of $45.92.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.3928 dividend. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.89%. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 95.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Guggenheim cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.25.

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.