Armistice Capital LLC Sells 2,000,000 Shares of GSK PLC Sponsored ADR $GSK

Key Points

• Armistice Capital LLC significantly reduced its stake in GSK PLC, selling 2 million shares, resulting in an 84.1% decrease in holdings to 378,000 shares worth approximately $14.64 million.
• Despite Armistice's reduction, other hedge funds, including Dodge & Cox and Primecap Management, increased their investments in GSK during the same quarter, indicating continued institutional interest.
• GSK recently reported better-than-expected earnings, with $1.23 per share, surpassing estimates, and set a quarterly dividend of $0.4206, reflecting a dividend yield of 4.2%.

Armistice Capital LLC cut its stake in shares of GSK PLC Sponsored ADR (NYSE:GSK - Free Report) by 84.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 378,000 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 2,000,000 shares during the period. Armistice Capital LLC's holdings in GSK were worth $14,644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in GSK during the 4th quarter worth about $528,000. First Hawaiian Bank boosted its position in shares of GSK by 18.8% during the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 101,039 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,914,000 after purchasing an additional 15,987 shares in the last quarter. Crestline Management LP bought a new position in shares of GSK during the 4th quarter worth about $1,047,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of GSK by 84.2% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 49,628 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 22,689 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new position in shares of GSK during the 4th quarter worth about $12,423,000. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on GSK shares. Berenberg Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of GSK in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of GSK from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, GSK has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $37.38.

GSK Trading Up 2.1%

GSK stock traded up $0.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $40.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,877,121 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,061,652. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $38.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.31. GSK PLC Sponsored ADR has a 12 month low of $31.72 and a 12 month high of $44.19. The stock has a market cap of $82.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

GSK (NYSE:GSK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.11. GSK had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 49.22%. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.92 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 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. GSK has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.590-4.590 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that GSK PLC Sponsored ADR will post 4.14 EPS for the current year.

GSK Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.4206 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. GSK's dividend payout ratio is presently 77.78%.

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.