GSK (NYSE:GSK) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of GSK (NYSE:GSK) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has $39.50 price objective on the pharmaceutical company’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $53.00.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Guggenheim cut shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Argus upgraded GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays upgraded GSK to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.25.

GSK Price Performance

Shares of GSK stock opened at $35.52 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $39.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.62 billion, a PE ratio of 23.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.66. GSK has a 12 month low of $34.29 and a 12 month high of $45.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.3928 per share. This is a positive change 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 4.42%. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Insider Transactions at GSK

In other GSK news, major shareholder Plc Gsk purchased 2,791,930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was bought 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 directly owns 16,775,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $134,205,528. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 10.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of GSK

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GSK. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $759,425,000 after purchasing an additional 870,449 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its holdings in GSK by 2.4% in the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 14,853,755 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $607,222,000 after purchasing an additional 342,365 shares in the last quarter. Provident Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of GSK by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 3,953,602 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $161,623,000 after buying an additional 66,765 shares in the last quarter. Equity Investment Corp grew its position in shares of GSK by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 3,496,254 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $142,927,000 after buying an additional 63,052 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of GSK by 30.9% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,347,993 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $90,398,000 after acquiring an additional 554,600 shares in the last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.