GSK (NYSE:GSK) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of GSK (NYSE:GSK) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued an equal weight rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Guggenheim downgraded GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.25.

GSK Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of GSK stock opened at $36.15 on Wednesday. GSK has a twelve month low of $31.72 and a twelve month high of $45.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.74, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.51.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that GSK will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.3932 dividend. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. GSK’s payout ratio is currently 93.08%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GSK. FMR LLC raised its position in GSK by 8.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,008,928 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,185,885,000 after acquiring an additional 2,224,345 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its stake in shares of GSK by 70.1% in the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 25,261,660 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $854,349,000 after purchasing an additional 10,407,905 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of GSK by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,836,797 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $637,061,000 after purchasing an additional 259,867 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD lifted its stake in GSK by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 5,838,384 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $205,920,000 after purchasing an additional 874,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Equity Investment Corp boosted its holdings in GSK by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 3,962,581 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $134,014,000 after buying an additional 466,327 shares in the last quarter. 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.