GSK (NYSE:GSK) Given “Hold” Rating at Berenberg Bank

Berenberg Bank reaffirmed their hold rating on shares of GSK (NYSE:GSK) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. BNP Paribas began coverage on GSK in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $35.25 price objective for the company. Hsbc Global Res upgraded GSK to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on GSK in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, GSK currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.38.

GSK Price Performance

Shares of GSK opened at $40.46 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. GSK has a 1 year low of $31.72 and a 1 year high of $44.67. The stock has a market cap of $83.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $37.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.25.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. GSK had a return on equity of 48.59% and a net margin of 8.13%. The firm had revenue of $10.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that GSK will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.4216 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This is a positive change from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.17%. GSK’s payout ratio is currently 86.60%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GSK

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GSK. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in GSK in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $528,000. Caprock Group LLC lifted its stake in GSK by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 19,942 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $684,000 after acquiring an additional 1,424 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in GSK in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $77,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its stake in GSK by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 7,756 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verity Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in GSK by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,420 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $545,000 after acquiring an additional 2,813 shares in the last quarter. 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.