Hills Bank & Trust Co Buys 1,429 Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Hills Bank & Trust Co raised its stake in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 21,284 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,429 shares during the quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in GSK were worth $789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GSK. FMR LLC raised its position in GSK by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,099,513 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $656,107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291,161 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in GSK by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 15,065,558 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $558,330,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465,165 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its position in GSK by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 12,058,770 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $437,130,000 after purchasing an additional 287,000 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in GSK by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,079,897 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $292,896,000 after purchasing an additional 389,871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of GSK by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,551,555 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $273,744,000 after purchasing an additional 156,480 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Price Performance

GSK stock traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $44.67. 4,924,269 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,466,009. GSK plc has a 12-month low of $33.33 and a 12-month high of $44.72. The company has a market cap of $92.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.18, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $41.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $0.3762 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GSK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Guggenheim upgraded shares of GSK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Citigroup upgraded shares of GSK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of GSK in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, GSK currently 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.