Brokerages Set GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Price Target at $43.25

GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.25.

A number of research firms have commented on GSK. Guggenheim lowered shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays upgraded shares of GSK to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Plc Gsk bought 2,791,930 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.00 per share, with a total value of $22,335,440.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 16,775,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $134,205,528. This trade represents a 19.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 10.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GSK

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GSK. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in GSK in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in GSK by 73.8% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 711 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners increased its stake in GSK by 231.8% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 783 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in GSK in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in GSK in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Price Performance

NYSE:GSK opened at $33.96 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $70.38 billion, a PE ratio of 22.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.66. GSK has a 12 month low of $32.83 and a 12 month high of $45.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $38.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.32.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.3928 per share. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.63%. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. GSK’s payout ratio is 99.35%.

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.