Aquatic Capital Management LLC Acquires 258,096 Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK - Free Report) by 155.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 423,796 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 258,096 shares during the quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC's holdings in GSK were worth $14,333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Grimes & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in GSK during the fourth quarter worth about $4,731,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in GSK during the fourth quarter worth about $4,033,000. Kempner Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in GSK by 142.7% during the fourth quarter. Kempner Capital Management Inc. now owns 183,080 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $6,192,000 after buying an additional 107,648 shares during the last quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in GSK by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 217,200 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $7,346,000 after buying an additional 7,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MADDEN SECURITIES Corp purchased a new stake in GSK during the fourth quarter worth about $2,957,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.74% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GSK shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of GSK from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of GSK to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of GSK in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of GSK in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $35.25 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, GSK currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $40.58.

GSK Price Performance

NYSE:GSK traded down $0.82 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $39.03. 2,447,361 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,741,713. The business's 50-day moving average price is $37.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.04. The company has a market cap of $80.53 billion, a PE ratio of 24.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.56. GSK plc has a 12-month low of $31.72 and a 12-month high of $45.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

GSK (NYSE:GSK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. GSK had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 48.59%. The business had revenue of $10.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that GSK plc will post 4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.3932 dividend. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from GSK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. GSK's payout ratio is currently 100.63%.

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.