GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Stake Lifted by Herold Advisors Inc.

Herold Advisors Inc. raised its stake in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 10,681 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 511 shares during the quarter. Herold Advisors Inc.’s holdings in GSK were worth $396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in GSK by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 7,035 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 1,312 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of GSK by 4.8% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 6,462 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Kempner Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in GSK in the third quarter worth about $2,735,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in GSK by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,098 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $439,000 after buying an additional 637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Financial Group LLC increased its stake in GSK by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 39,604 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,436,000 after buying an additional 903 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Stock Performance

GSK traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $41.12. The stock had a trading volume of 2,730,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,439,198. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. GSK plc has a 1 year low of $33.33 and a 1 year high of $43.84. The stock has a market cap of $85.22 billion, a PE ratio of 13.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.95.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.79 billion. GSK had a net margin of 16.24% and a return on equity of 51.45%. Equities analysts anticipate that GSK plc will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.3564 per share. This represents a $1.43 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GSK. Guggenheim upgraded shares of GSK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded GSK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on GSK in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of GSK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.