GSK PLC Sponsored ADR (NYSE:GSK) Shares Sold by Auto Owners Insurance Co

Auto Owners Insurance Co cut its holdings in shares of GSK PLC Sponsored ADR (NYSE:GSK - Free Report) by 42.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 532,650 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 390,350 shares during the quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co's holdings in GSK were worth $20,635,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in GSK by 127.9% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 841 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Old Port Advisors increased its holdings in GSK by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 62,599 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,425,000 after purchasing an additional 4,782 shares during the last quarter. United Bank increased its holdings in GSK by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 32,325 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,252,000 after purchasing an additional 876 shares during the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC increased its holdings in GSK by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 20,053 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $777,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in GSK by 31.7% during the 1st quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 12,047 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 2,899 shares during the last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GSK has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered GSK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Berenberg Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of GSK in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on GSK in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $35.25 target price for the company. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded GSK to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, GSK currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $37.38.

GSK Stock Performance

NYSE:GSK traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $37.95. 4,009,306 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,818,628. GSK PLC Sponsored ADR has a twelve month low of $31.72 and a twelve month high of $44.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $39.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.50.

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 return on equity of 48.82% and a net margin of 9.89%. The business had revenue of $10.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that GSK PLC Sponsored ADR will post 4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.4216 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.44%. This is a positive change from GSK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. GSK's payout ratio is currently 88.14%.

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.