GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Receives $43.25 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.25.

A number of brokerages recently commented on GSK. StockNews.com raised GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on GSK in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company.

GSK Price Performance

GSK opened at $38.54 on Friday. GSK has a 1 year low of $31.72 and a 1 year high of $45.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $79.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $37.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.82.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 48.59%. As a group, analysts anticipate that GSK will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.3932 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.08%. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is 98.74%.

Institutional Trading of GSK

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co lifted its holdings in shares of GSK by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 750 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in GSK in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its stake in GSK by 195.5% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 789 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in GSK by 73.8% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 711 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of GSK during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

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.