GSK (NYSE:GSK) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of GSK (NYSE:GSK) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on GSK. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. HSBC raised GSK from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded GSK from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup began coverage on GSK in a report on Friday, July 24th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating on shares of GSK in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.00.

GSK Stock Performance

NYSE GSK opened at $51.72 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $104.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.35. GSK has a 12-month low of $36.75 and a 12-month high of $61.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $51.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.47.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.4515 per share. This represents a $1.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.94%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GSK

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Horizon Corp increased its holdings in GSK by 78.7% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 536 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of GSK during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of GSK during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Coston McIsaac & Partners increased its stake in shares of GSK by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 1,395 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of GSK by 15.3% in the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,508 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

About GSK

GSK (GlaxoSmithKline plc) is a London-headquartered, multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company formed through the 2000 merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. The company is dual-listed and operates globally, developing, manufacturing and commercializing prescription medicines, vaccines and specialty treatments. Over its history GSK has evolved through portfolio reshaping and strategic transactions to focus on science-led pharmaceuticals and vaccines.

GSK’s core activities include research and development of therapies and vaccines across a range of therapeutic areas, commercial manufacturing, and global marketing.