US Bancorp DE Buys 25,781 Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 236,770 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,781 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in GSK were worth $9,679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GSK. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its stake in shares of GSK by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 14,511,390 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $558,689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,773,020 shares during the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD grew its holdings in GSK by 37.8% during the 1st quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 5,510,840 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $236,250,000 after acquiring an additional 1,512,442 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of GSK by 180.0% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,219,798 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $95,129,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426,935 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of GSK in the 2nd quarter valued at about $52,487,000. Finally, Kahn Brothers Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of GSK during the 1st quarter valued at about $53,743,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Stock Performance

GSK opened at $36.88 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $76.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.95, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $40.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.03. GSK plc has a 1-year low of $33.67 and a 1-year high of $45.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.49 billion. GSK had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 50.62%. On average, analysts expect that GSK plc will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.3928 per share. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.26%. GSK’s payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on GSK. UBS Group lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Argus upgraded shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays upgraded shares of GSK to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Plc Gsk acquired 2,791,930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.00 per share, for a total transaction of $22,335,440.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 16,775,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $134,205,528. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 10.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.