Crestline Management LP Buys New Stake in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Crestline Management LP purchased a new stake in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 30,970 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $1,047,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Grimes & Company Inc. acquired a new position in GSK during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,731,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of GSK during the fourth quarter worth $4,033,000. Kempner Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, MADDEN SECURITIES Corp acquired a new position in shares of GSK during the fourth quarter worth $2,957,000. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GSK. StockNews.com upgraded shares of GSK from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of GSK to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of GSK in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $35.25 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of GSK in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating on the stock. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, GSK currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $40.58.

GSK Trading Down 2.7%

GSK stock traded down $1.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $36.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,083,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,792,615. 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 $75.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $37.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.97. GSK plc has a 12 month low of $31.72 and a 12 month high of $45.93.

GSK (NYSE:GSK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $10.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that GSK plc will post 4.14 EPS for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.4216 dividend. This represents a $1.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This is an increase from GSK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. GSK's dividend payout ratio is currently 86.60%.

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.