Ethic Inc. Buys 8,586 Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK - Free Report) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 106,904 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 8,586 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in GSK were worth $3,615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Grimes & Company Inc. bought a new stake in shares of GSK in the fourth quarter worth $4,731,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of GSK in the fourth quarter worth $4,033,000. Kempner Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of GSK by 142.7% in the fourth quarter. Kempner Capital Management Inc. now owns 183,080 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $6,192,000 after purchasing an additional 107,648 shares during the last quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of GSK by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 217,200 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $7,346,000 after purchasing an additional 7,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MADDEN SECURITIES Corp bought a new stake in shares of GSK in the fourth quarter worth $2,957,000. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

GSK Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of GSK stock traded down $0.10 on Wednesday, reaching $36.25. 7,082,097 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,814,337. The company has a market cap of $74.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.56 and a 200-day moving average of $35.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.52. GSK plc has a one year low of $31.72 and a one year high of $45.93.

GSK (NYSE:GSK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.13 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $10.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that GSK plc will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.4216 dividend. This is a positive change from GSK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.65%. GSK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GSK has been the topic of several analyst reports. 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 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of GSK from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of GSK in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of GSK to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $40.58.

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.