Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stake in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,802 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,243 shares during the period. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in GSK were worth $568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GSK. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of GSK by 73.8% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 711 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of GSK by 2.0% during the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,693 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $682,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its stake in shares of GSK by 6.3% during the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 5,608 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. Bond & Devick Financial Network Inc. raised its holdings in GSK by 5.4% in the third quarter. Bond & Devick Financial Network Inc. now owns 7,830 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC raised its holdings in GSK by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $413,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on GSK in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Guggenheim cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.25.

GSK Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE GSK opened at $36.15 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $34.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.50. The stock has a market cap of $74.92 billion, a PE ratio of 22.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. GSK plc has a 52-week low of $31.72 and a 52-week high of $45.92.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 48.59% and a net margin of 8.13%. Equities research analysts forecast that GSK plc will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.3932 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.35%. GSK’s payout ratio is currently 93.08%.

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.