Wall Street Zen Downgrades GSK (NYSE:GSK) to Hold

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of GSK (NYSE:GSK - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on GSK. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of GSK in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $35.25 price objective on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised GSK to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on GSK in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, GSK currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $37.38.

GSK Stock Performance

GSK traded up $0.60 during trading on Friday, reaching $41.63. 4,389,354 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,875,040. GSK has a 52 week low of $31.72 and a 52 week high of $44.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $37.33 and a 200 day moving average of $36.17. The stock has a market cap of $85.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.51.

GSK (NYSE:GSK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.05. GSK had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 48.59%. The business had revenue of $10.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that GSK will post 4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.4216 dividend. This represents a $1.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.05%. This is a boost from GSK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. GSK's payout ratio is presently 86.60%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co increased its stake in shares of GSK by 200.0% in the fourth 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 period. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in GSK in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of GSK by 222.2% during the first quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 667 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in shares of GSK in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of GSK in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 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.