Blue Trust Inc. Sells 4,750 Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Blue Trust Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 44.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,970 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 4,750 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in GSK were worth $202,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of GSK by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,008,928 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,185,885,000 after acquiring an additional 2,224,345 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in GSK by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,576,930 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $759,425,000 after purchasing an additional 870,449 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its holdings in GSK by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 14,853,755 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $607,222,000 after purchasing an additional 342,365 shares during the period. Provident Trust Co. increased its holdings in GSK by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 3,953,602 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $161,623,000 after purchasing an additional 66,765 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in GSK by 30.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,542,143 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $144,803,000 after purchasing an additional 833,080 shares during the period. 15.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

GSK Stock Performance

Shares of GSK opened at $36.54 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $34.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.38. GSK plc has a one year low of $31.72 and a one year high of $45.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market cap of $75.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.64.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a return on equity of 48.59% and a net margin of 8.13%. As a group, research analysts predict that GSK plc will post 4.12 EPS for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.3932 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.30%. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. GSK’s payout ratio is currently 93.08%.

About GSK

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.