Cetera Investment Advisers Acquires 23,948 Shares of GSK PLC Sponsored ADR (NYSE:GSK)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in GSK PLC stocks by 9.1%, amounting to 286,547 shares valued at approximately $11.1 million as of the end of the recent reporting period.
• GSK's recent quarterly earnings surpassed estimates with an EPS of $1.13 and revenue of $10.06 billion, showing a 2.1% increase compared to the previous year.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.4216 per share, representing a 4.32% annualized yield, with a payout ratio of 88.14%.

Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of GSK PLC Sponsored ADR (NYSE:GSK - Free Report) by 9.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 286,547 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 23,948 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in GSK were worth $11,101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in GSK by 127.9% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 841 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in GSK during the first quarter valued at about $36,000. First Pacific Financial bought a new position in GSK during the first quarter valued at about $45,000. CX Institutional bought a new position in GSK during the first quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in GSK during the first quarter valued at about $51,000. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GSK has been the subject of several research reports. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of GSK in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on GSK in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $35.25 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut GSK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised GSK to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, GSK currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $37.38.

GSK Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE:GSK traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $37.53. 3,676,989 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,107,508. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $38.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. GSK PLC Sponsored ADR has a fifty-two week low of $31.72 and a fifty-two week high of $44.67. The firm has a market cap of $76.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.38, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.51.

GSK (NYSE:GSK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. GSK's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that GSK PLC Sponsored ADR will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

GSK Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.4206 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. GSK's dividend payout ratio is currently 79.17%.

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.