GSK (NYSE:GSK) Cut to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of GSK (NYSE:GSK) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Sunday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on GSK. Jefferies Financial Group cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $53.00 to $39.50 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Guggenheim cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.25.

GSK Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE GSK opened at $34.11 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $34.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.30. The company has a market capitalization of $70.69 billion, a PE ratio of 22.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.63. GSK has a 12-month low of $32.83 and a 12-month high of $45.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.3928 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.61%. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GSK

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GSK. FMR LLC raised its stake in GSK by 8.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,008,928 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,185,885,000 after purchasing an additional 2,224,345 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of GSK by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,576,930 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $759,425,000 after buying an additional 870,449 shares during the last quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of GSK by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC now owns 409,669 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $16,747,000 after buying an additional 51,378 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in GSK by 61.8% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 433,628 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $17,728,000 after acquiring an additional 165,556 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in GSK by 20.0% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 500,495 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $20,460,000 after acquiring an additional 83,433 shares during the period. 15.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.