Snowden Capital Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Snowden Capital Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK - Free Report) by 74.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,030 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 20,341 shares during the period. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in GSK were worth $247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sphera Funds Management LTD. lifted its stake in GSK by 30.0% in the fourth quarter. Sphera Funds Management LTD. now owns 130,000 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,397,000 after acquiring an additional 30,000 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of GSK by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 106,753 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,610,000 after purchasing an additional 6,948 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of GSK by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 256,715 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $8,686,000 after purchasing an additional 10,101 shares in the last quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. increased its position in GSK by 32.5% during the 4th quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. now owns 1,623,203 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $54,897,000 after buying an additional 398,433 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Logan Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in GSK by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 84,663 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,863,000 after buying an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GSK shares. BNP Paribas started coverage on GSK in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $35.25 price target for the company. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of GSK to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of GSK from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on GSK in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $40.58.

GSK Stock Performance

GSK traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $39.27. 1,211,196 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,817,276. The company's fifty day moving average price is $37.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.51. 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 52-week low of $31.72 and a 52-week high of $45.01.

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

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.4216 per share. This is an increase from GSK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.29%. GSK's payout ratio is presently 86.60%.

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.