GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $47.00.

GSK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim upgraded GSK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on GSK in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 target price for the company.

GSK Stock Performance

NYSE:GSK opened at $40.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.87. GSK has a 52-week low of $33.67 and a 52-week high of $45.92. The firm has a market cap of $84.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s fifty day moving average is $42.56 and its 200 day moving average is $41.03.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.15. GSK had a return on equity of 51.54% and a net margin of 14.62%. The business had revenue of $9.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.98 billion. Research analysts predict that GSK will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $0.3762 dividend. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.26%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GSK

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GSK. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in GSK during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,765,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in GSK by 64.7% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,625,585 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $58,927,000 after acquiring an additional 638,544 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in GSK by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 579,545 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $21,009,000 after purchasing an additional 58,790 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC raised its position in GSK by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 103,193 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,741,000 after purchasing an additional 11,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in GSK by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 219,387 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,953,000 after purchasing an additional 85,699 shares during the last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.