GSK (NYSE:GSK) Downgraded to Neutral Rating by Guggenheim

Guggenheim lowered shares of GSK (NYSE:GSK) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Thursday, Marketbeat reports.

GSK has been the subject of several other research reports. Argus upgraded shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays upgraded shares of GSK to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.00.

GSK Stock Performance

Shares of GSK opened at $36.88 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.66. GSK has a 52 week low of $33.67 and a 52 week high of $45.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $40.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.81.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.09. GSK had a return on equity of 50.62% and a net margin of 7.97%. The business had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.49 billion. Equities analysts forecast that GSK will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.3928 per share. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Plc Gsk bought 2,791,930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.00 per share, with a total value of $22,335,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,775,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $134,205,528. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 10.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of GSK

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GSK. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of GSK by 9.1% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,078 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of GSK by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 11,133 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of GSK by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,097 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network grew its holdings in shares of GSK by 4.7% during the second quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 6,359 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of GSK by 9.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,542 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 303 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.