GSK (NYSE:GSK) Now Covered by Analysts at BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of GSK (NYSE:GSK) in a research note published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $35.25 target price on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on GSK. StockNews.com raised shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on GSK in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.58.

GSK Price Performance

NYSE:GSK opened at $35.92 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $74.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.56. The business’s 50-day moving average is $37.44 and its 200 day moving average is $36.14. 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 has a 12 month low of $31.72 and a 12 month high of $45.93.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a return on equity of 48.59% and a net margin of 8.13%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that GSK will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.3932 per share. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.38%. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.63%.

Institutional Trading of GSK

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co raised its holdings in shares of GSK by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 750 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in GSK in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of GSK by 195.5% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 789 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of GSK during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of GSK by 470.1% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 992 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Company Profile

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.