GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Shares Purchased by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 96.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,455 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,185 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in GSK were worth $191,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in GSK by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 15,065,558 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $558,330,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465,165 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its stake in GSK by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 12,089,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $448,032,000 after acquiring an additional 30,600 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of GSK by 5.1% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,079,897 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $292,896,000 after acquiring an additional 389,871 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised 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 worth $273,744,000 after purchasing an additional 156,480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Provident Trust Co. lifted its stake in GSK by 53.6% in the fourth quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 3,716,830 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $137,746,000 after acquiring an additional 1,297,385 shares during the last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

GSK Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GSK traded down $0.31 on Tuesday, hitting $38.07. 1,354,695 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,637,633. GSK plc has a one year low of $33.67 and a one year high of $45.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $42.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.87.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.15. GSK had a net margin of 14.62% and a return on equity of 51.54%. The company had revenue of $9.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.98 billion. Research analysts expect that GSK plc will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.3762 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This is a positive change from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.95%. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is 53.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GSK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Berenberg Bank raised GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Citigroup upgraded shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Guggenheim raised shares of GSK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on GSK in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, GSK presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.00.

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.