GSK (NYSE:GSK) Earns Equal Weight Rating from Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of GSK (NYSE:GSK) in a report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued an equal weight rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on GSK. Jefferies Financial Group lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, GSK has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.25.

GSK Stock Performance

Shares of GSK opened at $36.15 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $34.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.51. The stock has a market cap 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.53. GSK has a one year low of $31.72 and a one year high of $45.92.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 48.59%. On average, equities research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.3932 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.35%. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 93.08%.

Institutional Trading of GSK

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co increased its stake in shares of GSK by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 750 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in GSK in the third quarter worth $26,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in GSK during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in GSK by 195.5% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 789 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in GSK by 73.8% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 711 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.