Traders Purchase Large Volume of GSK Put Options (NYSE:GSK)

GSK PLC Sponsored ADR (NYSE:GSK) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Traders acquired 39,552 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 731% compared to the typical volume of 4,762 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on GSK. Weiss Ratings cut GSK from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of GSK in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of GSK in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, GSK currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GSK

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of GSK by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,010 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of GSK by 15.3% during the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,508 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners raised its stake in shares of GSK by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 1,395 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp raised its stake in shares of GSK by 78.7% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 536 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peoples Bank KS raised its stake in shares of GSK by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Peoples Bank KS now owns 5,030 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GSK opened at $52.09 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. GSK has a twelve month low of $35.45 and a twelve month high of $61.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $52.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.81. The stock has a market cap of $105.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.36.

GSK Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. GSK’s payout ratio is currently 47.01%.

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.