GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Stake Boosted by Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 3,998.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,476 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 59,976 shares during the period. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings in GSK were worth $1,037,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of GSK by 73.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 711 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of GSK by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,693 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $682,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its holdings in GSK by 6.3% in the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 5,608 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. increased its position in GSK by 2.3% during the third quarter. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,559 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $636,000 after buying an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bond & Devick Financial Network Inc. increased its position in GSK by 5.4% during the third quarter. Bond & Devick Financial Network Inc. now owns 7,830 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

GSK Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:GSK opened at $37.04 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $76.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $34.55 and its 200-day moving average is $37.38. GSK plc has a 52-week low of $31.72 and a 52-week 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.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) 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 predict that GSK plc will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.3932 dividend. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.