GSK PLC Sponsored ADR (NYSE:GSK) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of GSK PLC Sponsored ADR (NYSE:GSK) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eight analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $44.1250.

A number of brokerages recently commented on GSK. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of GSK in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Bank of America raised GSK from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. HSBC restated a “reduce” rating on shares of GSK in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of GSK in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other GSK news, major shareholder Plc Gsk purchased 1,470,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.00 per share, with a total value of $27,930,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 18,245,691 shares in the company, valued at $346,668,129. The trade was a 8.76% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 10.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of GSK

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in GSK by 201.9% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,982,324 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $154,244,000 after buying an additional 2,663,270 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in GSK in the first quarter valued at about $67,267,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in GSK by 4.4% in the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 31,338,405 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,203,395,000 after acquiring an additional 1,306,590 shares during the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its position in shares of GSK by 138.2% during the 1st quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 1,565,735 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $60,657,000 after acquiring an additional 908,284 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of GSK by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,581,079 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $293,692,000 after purchasing an additional 411,869 shares during the last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

GSK Stock Down 0.0%

GSK stock opened at $48.59 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $99.05 billion, a PE ratio of 13.73, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $46.91 and its 200 day moving average is $42.19. GSK has a 12-month low of $31.72 and a 12-month high of $49.44.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.22. GSK had a net margin of 17.16% and a return on equity of 48.64%. The firm had revenue of $11.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. GSK has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.730-4.810 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that GSK will post 4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GSK Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.4171 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.67 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. GSK’s payout ratio is presently 46.33%.

About GSK

GSK (GlaxoSmithKline plc) is a London-headquartered, multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company formed through the 2000 merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. The company is dual-listed and operates globally, developing, manufacturing and commercializing prescription medicines, vaccines and specialty treatments. Over its history GSK has evolved through portfolio reshaping and strategic transactions to focus on science-led pharmaceuticals and vaccines.

GSK’s core activities include research and development of therapies and vaccines across a range of therapeutic areas, commercial manufacturing, and global marketing.