Bard Financial Services Inc. Has $4.74 Million Holdings in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Bard Financial Services Inc. grew its position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK - Free Report) by 54.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 122,245 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 43,150 shares during the period. Bard Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in GSK were worth $4,736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of GSK during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,033,000. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp acquired a new stake in GSK during the 4th quarter valued at $2,957,000. Columbia Asset Management bought a new position in GSK during the fourth quarter worth $233,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of GSK by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 844,039 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $28,545,000 after purchasing an additional 107,529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC raised its position in shares of GSK by 44.5% in 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 during the period. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

GSK Price Performance

GSK traded up $0.86 on Thursday, hitting $42.48. 2,496,971 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,830,029. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.72, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.52. GSK plc has a 12 month low of $31.72 and a 12 month high of $44.67. The business has a 50-day moving average of $37.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.55.

GSK (NYSE:GSK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $10.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.52 billion. GSK had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 48.59%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that GSK plc will post 4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

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