Investors Purchase Large Volume of GSK Call Options (NYSE:GSK)

GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors bought 9,012 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 48% compared to the average volume of 6,099 call options.

GSK Stock Up 2.1 %

NYSE GSK opened at $40.30 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $83.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.35, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50 day moving average of $36.18 and a 200-day moving average of $36.99. GSK has a 1-year low of $31.72 and a 1-year high of $45.93.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a return on equity of 48.59% and a net margin of 8.13%. On average, equities research analysts expect that GSK will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.3932 per share. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.90%. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on GSK. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of GSK in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. StockNews.com raised GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GSK

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC boosted 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 worth $1,786,475,000 after acquiring an additional 23,814,104 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its holdings in shares of GSK by 70.1% in the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 25,261,660 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $854,349,000 after purchasing an additional 10,407,905 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of GSK by 1,360.4% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 2,165,043 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $73,222,000 after purchasing an additional 2,016,795 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP increased its stake in shares of GSK by 132.7% in the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 2,247,691 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $76,017,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281,855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of GSK during the 4th quarter worth $36,665,000. 15.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.