Financial Counselors Inc. Trims Holdings in GSK PLC Sponsored ADR (NYSE:GSK)

Financial Counselors Inc. lessened its holdings in GSK PLC Sponsored ADR (NYSE:GSK - Free Report) by 4.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 135,437 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 6,823 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.'s holdings in GSK were worth $5,247,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GSK. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of GSK by 82.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 52,823,032 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,786,475,000 after buying an additional 23,814,104 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its holdings in GSK by 70.1% during the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 25,261,660 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $854,349,000 after acquiring an additional 10,407,905 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its position in GSK by 1,360.4% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 2,165,043 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $73,222,000 after acquiring an additional 2,016,795 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP increased its stake in GSK by 132.7% in the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 2,247,691 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $76,017,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281,855 shares during the period. Finally, Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in GSK in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,665,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.74% of the company's stock.

GSK Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE:GSK traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $39.03. The company had a trading volume of 913,777 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,931,606. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $38.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.18. The company has a market capitalization of $79.90 billion, a PE ratio of 20.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.50. GSK PLC Sponsored ADR has a 52 week low of $31.72 and a 52 week high of $44.67.

GSK (NYSE:GSK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. GSK had a net margin of 9.89% and a return on equity of 48.82%. The firm had revenue of $10.06 billion for 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that GSK PLC Sponsored ADR will post 4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.32%. This is a positive change from GSK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. GSK's dividend payout ratio is currently 87.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GSK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of GSK in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $35.25 target price on the stock. Berenberg Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of GSK in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of GSK to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of GSK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, GSK has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $37.38.

GSK Company 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.