GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Shares Sold by Cohen Klingenstein LLC

Cohen Klingenstein LLC decreased its position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK - Free Report) by 19.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 79,398 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 18,800 shares during the period. Cohen Klingenstein LLC's holdings in GSK were worth $3,076,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of GSK during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,033,000. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp purchased a new position in shares of GSK in the 4th quarter valued at $2,957,000. Columbia Asset Management bought a new position in shares of GSK in the 4th quarter worth $233,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of GSK by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 844,039 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $28,545,000 after purchasing an additional 107,529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC boosted its position in GSK by 44.5% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 8,126 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 2,504 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 15.74% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on GSK shares. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of GSK to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of GSK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of GSK in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Berenberg Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of GSK in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on GSK in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $35.25 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, GSK currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.38.

GSK Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GSK traded up $0.84 during trading on Thursday, hitting $42.46. The company had a trading volume of 2,561,731 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,830,264. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. GSK plc has a fifty-two week low of $31.72 and a fifty-two week high of $44.67.

GSK (NYSE:GSK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.05. GSK had a return on equity of 48.59% and a net margin of 8.13%. The business had revenue of $10.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that GSK plc will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.4216 dividend. This represents a $1.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. This is a boost from GSK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. GSK's dividend payout ratio is 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.