GSK (NYSE:GSK) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $37.64, but opened at $39.09. GSK shares last traded at $38.62, with a volume of 1,092,399 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on GSK in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.25.

GSK Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $80.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.63.

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

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.3932 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.06%. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.74%.

Institutional Trading of GSK

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC raised its stake in GSK by 82.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 52,823,032 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,786,475,000 after acquiring an additional 23,814,104 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its holdings in shares of GSK by 70.1% during the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 25,261,660 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $854,349,000 after buying an additional 10,407,905 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its stake in GSK by 1,360.4% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 2,165,043 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $73,222,000 after buying an additional 2,016,795 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP raised its holdings in GSK by 132.7% in the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 2,247,691 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $76,017,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281,855 shares during the period. Finally, Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of GSK during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,665,000. Institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

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.