Herold Advisors Inc. Increases Position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Herold Advisors Inc. grew its position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,681 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the quarter. Herold Advisors Inc.’s holdings in GSK were worth $396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in GSK by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 7,035 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 1,312 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of GSK by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 6,462 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Kempner Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in GSK during the third quarter worth approximately $2,735,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in GSK by 5.6% in the third quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,098 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of GSK by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 39,604 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,436,000 after buying an additional 903 shares in the last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

GSK Stock Performance

GSK stock traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $41.12. 2,730,453 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,439,198. The stock has a market cap of $85.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $41.83 and its 200 day moving average is $38.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.88. GSK plc has a 52-week low of $33.33 and a 52-week high of $43.84.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.79 billion. GSK had a return on equity of 51.45% and a net margin of 16.24%. Analysts predict that GSK plc will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.3564 per share. This is a positive change from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.43 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. GSK’s payout ratio is presently 52.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim raised GSK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of GSK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Citigroup raised GSK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on GSK in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

GSK Company 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.