GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Shares Sold by Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd.

Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. cut its stake in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 12,700 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 590 shares during the period. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd.’s holdings in GSK were worth $429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co raised its holdings in shares of GSK by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 750 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of GSK in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its stake in GSK by 195.5% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 789 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in GSK in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 15.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on GSK. StockNews.com upgraded GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of GSK in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, GSK has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.25.

GSK Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:GSK opened at $38.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $80.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58. GSK plc has a 1-year low of $31.72 and a 1-year high of $45.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $37.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.79.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 48.59%. Sell-side analysts predict that GSK plc will post 4.14 EPS for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.3932 per share. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.06%. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is 98.74%.

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.