GSK (NYSE:GSK) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of GSK (NYSE:GSK) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

GSK has been the subject of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $39.50 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Guggenheim downgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.25.

GSK Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE GSK opened at $33.65 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $69.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.64. GSK has a 52-week low of $32.83 and a 52-week high of $45.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $35.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.3928 per share. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.67%. GSK’s payout ratio is presently 98.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GSK

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of GSK by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,008,928 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,185,885,000 after buying an additional 2,224,345 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its stake in shares of GSK by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 14,511,390 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $558,689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,773,020 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of GSK during the second quarter valued at approximately $52,487,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of GSK by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,576,930 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $759,425,000 after purchasing an additional 870,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in GSK by 30.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,542,143 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $144,803,000 after purchasing an additional 833,080 shares during the last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by 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.