77,576 Shares in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Acquired by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 77,576 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,624,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in GSK during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in GSK by 73.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 711 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of GSK in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its position in shares of GSK by 231.8% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 783 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the period. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of GSK by 195.5% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 789 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

GSK Stock Performance

Shares of GSK stock opened at $36.59 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.82 billion, a PE ratio of 23.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. GSK plc has a 12 month low of $31.72 and a 12 month high of $45.92.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 48.59%. Analysts forecast that GSK plc will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.3932 dividend. This is a positive change from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.30%. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is presently 93.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim lowered shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of GSK in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.25.

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.