Vestal Point Capital LP Buys New Position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Vestal Point Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 300,000 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,264,000. GSK makes up 0.9% of Vestal Point Capital LP’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in GSK by 1.0% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 79,558 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,252,000 after buying an additional 813 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co raised its position in shares of GSK by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 17,638 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $721,000 after buying an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new position in GSK during the third quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Clifford Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of GSK by 14.3% in the third quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC now owns 409,669 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $16,747,000 after buying an additional 51,378 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its position in GSK by 107.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 965,836 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $39,483,000 after buying an additional 500,010 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GSK. Barclays upgraded shares of GSK to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Argus upgraded shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Guggenheim cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.25.

Insider Transactions at GSK

In related news, major shareholder Plc Gsk acquired 2,791,930 shares of GSK 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 owns 16,775,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $134,205,528. The trade was a 19.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 10.00% of the company’s stock.

GSK Stock Performance

NYSE GSK opened at $34.33 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.09. GSK plc has a fifty-two week low of $32.83 and a fifty-two week high of $45.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.29, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.3928 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.58%. This is a positive change from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.35%.

GSK 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.