Quantbot Technologies LP Reduces Holdings in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Quantbot Technologies LP trimmed its position in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 69.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 44,556 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 100,156 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in GSK were worth $1,910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GSK. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of GSK by 2,816.7% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 700 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 676 shares during the last quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of GSK in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of GSK in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of GSK in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in GSK in the first quarter valued at about $49,000. 15.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on GSK shares. Citigroup upgraded GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on GSK from $52.50 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Berenberg Bank upgraded GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on GSK in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.00.

GSK Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of GSK stock traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $39.16. 2,512,036 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,584,349. GSK plc has a 1 year low of $33.67 and a 1 year high of $45.92. The stock has a market cap of $81.16 billion, a PE ratio of 14.10, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $41.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.29.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $9.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.98 billion. GSK had a return on equity of 51.54% and a net margin of 14.62%. Research analysts predict that GSK plc will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were given a $0.3762 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.84%. This is a positive change from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.26%.

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.