World Investment Advisors Sells 581 Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

World Investment Advisors lowered its holdings in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,725 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 581 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in GSK were worth $329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GSK. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co increased its position in shares of GSK by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 750 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in GSK during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its holdings in GSK by 195.5% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 789 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of GSK by 73.8% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 711 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of GSK in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:GSK opened at $34.08 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $70.54 billion, a PE ratio of 21.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.56. GSK plc has a 1 year low of $31.72 and a 1 year high of $45.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $37.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.40.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 48.59%. Analysts forecast that GSK plc will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.3932 dividend. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. GSK’s payout ratio is 98.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on GSK. StockNews.com raised GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of GSK in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.25.

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.