GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Short Interest Down 11.4% in September

GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 10,360,000 shares, a decrease of 11.4% from the September 15th total of 11,690,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,820,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days. Currently, 0.5% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Activity

In other GSK news, major shareholder Plc Gsk bought 2,791,930 shares of GSK stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $8.00 per share, with a total value of $22,335,440.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 16,775,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $134,205,528. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 10.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of GSK

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd grew its holdings in GSK by 71.3% during the 1st quarter. JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd now owns 21,141,012 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $909,063,000 after buying an additional 8,800,822 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its stake in GSK by 13.9% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 14,511,390 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $558,689,000 after acquiring an additional 1,773,020 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD increased its holdings in GSK by 37.8% in the 1st quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 5,510,840 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $236,250,000 after acquiring an additional 1,512,442 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in GSK by 180.0% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,219,798 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $95,129,000 after purchasing an additional 1,426,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of GSK during the 2nd quarter valued at about $52,487,000. Institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GSK traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $39.13. 1,777,705 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,724,496. GSK has a 52 week low of $33.67 and a 52 week high of $45.92. The firm has a market cap of $81.10 billion, a PE ratio of 14.12, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $41.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.09. GSK had a net margin of 12.87% and a return on equity of 51.48%. The firm had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.49 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that GSK will post 4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $0.3843 dividend. This is a positive change from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.93%. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is 55.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GSK. Argus upgraded shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup raised GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Barclays raised GSK to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of GSK from $52.50 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.00.

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.