GSK (NYSE:GSK) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 10,740,675 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 196% from the previous session’s volume of 3,633,625 shares.The stock last traded at $40.97 and had previously closed at $38.02.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GSK. UBS Group downgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Argus raised shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays raised shares of GSK to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on GSK from $52.50 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.00.

GSK Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $41.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.40 billion, a PE ratio of 14.70, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.65.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.49 billion. GSK had a net margin of 12.87% and a return on equity of 51.48%. On average, equities analysts expect that GSK plc will post 4.17 earnings per share for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.3843 per share. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is 54.71%.

Insider Transactions at GSK

In related news, major shareholder Plc Gsk acquired 2,791,930 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $8.00 per share, for a total transaction of $22,335,440.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 16,775,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $134,205,528. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 10.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of GSK

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in GSK in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in GSK during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in GSK in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. PrairieView Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of GSK in the second quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in GSK during the second quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

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.