Keating Investment Counselors Inc. Invests $5.53 Million in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Keating Investment Counselors Inc. acquired a new position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 163,605 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,533,000. GSK accounts for approximately 1.7% of Keating Investment Counselors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of GSK by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,008,928 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,185,885,000 after purchasing an additional 2,224,345 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of GSK by 4.9% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,576,930 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $759,425,000 after purchasing an additional 870,449 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its position in GSK by 30.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,542,143 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $144,803,000 after buying an additional 833,080 shares in the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY acquired a new position in GSK during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $23,366,000. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of GSK by 107.3% in 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 last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

GSK Price Performance

NYSE:GSK opened at $36.20 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $75.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.64. GSK plc has a 52 week low of $31.72 and a 52 week high of $45.92. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.44.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that GSK plc will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 positive change from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.34%. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 93.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GSK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Guggenheim lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on GSK in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, GSK presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.25.

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.