Investors Purchase Large Volume of GSK Call Options (NYSE:GSK)

GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors acquired 9,012 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 48% compared to the average volume of 6,099 call options.

GSK Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of GSK stock traded up $0.76 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $40.25. 1,447,547 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,291,194. The company has a market capitalization of $83.42 billion, a PE ratio of 25.31, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58. GSK has a 52 week low of $31.72 and a 52 week high of $45.93. The business has a 50 day moving average of $36.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 48.59%. Analysts anticipate that GSK will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.3932 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.91%. GSK’s payout ratio is 98.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GSK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of GSK in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GSK

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its holdings in GSK by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 11,506 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $389,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Bank & Trust Co lifted its position in shares of GSK by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwest Bank & Trust Co now owns 22,405 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $765,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of GSK by 73.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 711 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group lifted its position in shares of GSK by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 5,608 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. Finally, GC Wealth Management RIA LLC lifted its position in shares of GSK by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC now owns 14,009 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $474,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. 15.74% of the stock is 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.