GSK (NYSE:GSK) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 10,844,634 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 174% from the previous session’s volume of 3,954,231 shares.The stock last traded at $36.33 and had previously closed at $35.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GSK. Barclays raised GSK to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Argus raised GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.00.

GSK Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $75.21 billion, a PE ratio of 23.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $39.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.91.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.3928 per share. This is a positive change from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.33%. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Insider Activity

In other GSK news, major shareholder Plc Gsk bought 2,791,930 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $8.00 per share, with a total value of $22,335,440.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 16,775,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $134,205,528. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 10.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of GSK

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its position in shares of GSK by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 14,853,755 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $607,222,000 after buying an additional 342,365 shares during the period. Provident Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of GSK by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 3,953,602 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $161,623,000 after buying an additional 66,765 shares during the period. Equity Investment Corp lifted its position in shares of GSK by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 3,496,254 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $142,927,000 after buying an additional 63,052 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of GSK by 30.9% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,347,993 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $90,398,000 after buying an additional 554,600 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of GSK by 33.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,256,320 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $86,875,000 after buying an additional 569,614 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

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.