GSK (NYSE:GSK) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

GSK plc (NYSE:GSK - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $37.64, but opened at $39.09. GSK shares last traded at $38.62, with a volume of 1,092,399 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GSK has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of GSK from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on GSK in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "equal weight" rating for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, GSK currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.25.

GSK Trading Down 1.6 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $70.93 billion, a PE ratio of 21.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

GSK (NYSE:GSK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 48.59%. Equities analysts expect that GSK plc will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.3932 dividend. This is an increase from GSK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. GSK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.74%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GSK. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of GSK by 82.1% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 52,823,032 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,786,475,000 after purchasing an additional 23,814,104 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its position in GSK by 70.1% during the fourth quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 25,261,660 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $854,349,000 after buying an additional 10,407,905 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in GSK by 1,360.4% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 2,165,043 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $73,222,000 after buying an additional 2,016,795 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its stake in shares of GSK by 132.7% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 2,247,691 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $76,017,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281,855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of GSK during the 4th quarter valued at $36,665,000. 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.