GSK Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:GSK)

GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 25,931 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 446% compared to the typical daily volume of 4,748 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on GSK from $52.50 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Argus upgraded shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group downgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of GSK to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, GSK has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $50.00.

GSK Price Performance

Shares of GSK stock traded down $0.26 on Wednesday, hitting $37.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,348,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,730,128. The company has a market capitalization of $78.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.65. GSK has a 52-week low of $33.67 and a 52-week high of $45.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $41.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.49 billion. GSK had a net margin of 12.87% and a return on equity of 51.48%. On average, equities research analysts expect that GSK will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $0.3843 per share. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is 55.80%.

Insider Activity at GSK

In other news, major shareholder Plc Gsk purchased 2,791,930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.00 per share, for a total transaction of $22,335,440.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 16,775,691 shares in the company, valued at $134,205,528. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 10.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GSK

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. DGS Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in GSK by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 30,691 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,316,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC increased its stake in GSK by 4.6% in the first quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 11,162 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management lifted its position in GSK by 8.7% during the first quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 54,174 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,343,000 after buying an additional 4,332 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in GSK by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 157,266 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,742,000 after buying an additional 4,082 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrive Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in GSK by 23.3% in the 1st quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,642 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 2,198 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.