1,346 Shares in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Purchased by Whipplewood Advisors LLC

Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,346 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC raised its holdings in GSK by 8.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,008,928 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,185,885,000 after purchasing an additional 2,224,345 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in GSK by 4.9% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,576,930 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $759,425,000 after purchasing an additional 870,449 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its holdings in GSK by 2.4% in the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 14,853,755 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $607,222,000 after purchasing an additional 342,365 shares in the last quarter. Provident Trust Co. raised its holdings in GSK by 1.7% in the third quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 3,953,602 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $161,623,000 after purchasing an additional 66,765 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in GSK by 30.8% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,542,143 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $144,803,000 after purchasing an additional 833,080 shares in the last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $39.50 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of GSK in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.25.

GSK Stock Performance

GSK opened at $37.59 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $34.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.28. The company has a market cap of $77.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 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 company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts anticipate that GSK plc will post 4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.3932 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.18%. This is a positive change from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.74%.

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.