GSK (NYSE:GSK) Cut to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of GSK (NYSE:GSK) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on GSK. Guggenheim cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, GSK presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.25.

GSK Price Performance

Shares of GSK stock opened at $34.08 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. GSK has a 12-month low of $31.72 and a 12-month high of $45.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $33.89 and a 200-day moving average of $37.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.63.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.3928 per share. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.61%. This is a positive change from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is presently 96.10%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GSK

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GSK. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of GSK during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of GSK in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in GSK by 195.5% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 789 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of GSK by 73.8% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 711 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners grew its holdings in GSK by 231.8% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 783 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.