GSK plc (LON:GSK) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of GSK plc (LON:GSK) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is GBX 1,630.63 ($20.64).

GSK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Shore Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of GSK in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Berenberg Bank increased their target price on GSK from GBX 1,650 ($20.88) to GBX 1,820 ($23.04) and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 1,950 ($24.68) target price on shares of GSK in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a GBX 1,725 ($21.83) target price on shares of GSK in a report on Monday, April 8th.

GSK Stock Performance

LON:GSK opened at GBX 1,643.50 ($20.80) on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of £67.22 billion, a PE ratio of 1,369.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.27. GSK has a fifty-two week low of GBX 1,302.60 ($16.49) and a fifty-two week high of GBX 1,719.80 ($21.77). The company has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 1,666.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 1,542.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 140.82, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.88.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a dividend of GBX 16 ($0.20) per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This is a positive change from GSK’s previous dividend of $14.00. This represents a dividend yield of 1.04%. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5,333.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Julie Brown acquired 19,360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 1,583 ($20.04) per share, with a total value of £306,468.80 ($387,886.09). In other news, insider Julie Brown acquired 19,360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 1,583 ($20.04) per share, with a total value of £306,468.80 ($387,886.09). Also, insider Emma Walmsley sold 139,792 shares of GSK stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 1,658 ($20.98), for a total value of £2,317,751.36 ($2,933,491.15). Insiders acquired a total of 19,802 shares of company stock valued at $31,381,484 in the last ninety days. 1.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.