GSK (LON:GSK) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Dividend Announcement

GSK plc (LON:GSK - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as GBX 1,720.50 ($21.61) and last traded at GBX 1,714.75 ($21.54), with a volume of 9095223 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 1,705 ($21.42).

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of GBX 15 ($0.19) per share. This represents a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. GSK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5,333.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on shares of GSK from GBX 1,650 ($20.73) to GBX 1,820 ($22.86) and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and set a GBX 1,950 ($24.49) target price on shares of GSK in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of GSK from GBX 1,530 ($19.22) to GBX 1,660 ($20.85) and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a GBX 1,725 ($21.67) target price on shares of GSK in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Shore Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of GSK in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of GBX 1,675.63 ($21.05).

GSK Trading Up 1.4 %

The company's fifty day moving average is GBX 1,662.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is GBX 1,556.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 140.82, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of £70.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,440.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Emma Walmsley sold 139,792 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 1,658 ($20.83), for a total transaction of £2,317,751.36 ($2,911,382.19). In other news, insider Emma Walmsley sold 139,792 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 1,658 ($20.83), for a total transaction of £2,317,751.36 ($2,911,382.19). Also, insider Urs Rohner purchased 434 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 1,662 ($20.88) per share, for a total transaction of £7,213.08 ($9,060.52). 1.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.