Whittier Trust Co. Sells 8,296 Shares of GSK PLC Sponsored ADR (NYSE:GSK)

Whittier Trust Co. trimmed its stake in shares of GSK PLC Sponsored ADR (NYSE:GSK - Free Report) by 21.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,854 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 8,296 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.'s holdings in GSK were worth $1,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GSK. Dodge & Cox lifted its holdings in GSK by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 68,440,912 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,314,672,000 after buying an additional 353,749 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in GSK by 82.1% in 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 period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in GSK by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,566,922 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $255,914,000 after buying an additional 35,134 shares during the period. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD lifted its holdings in GSK by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 5,838,384 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $205,920,000 after buying an additional 874,004 shares during the period. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in GSK by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 4,153,616 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $140,475,000 after buying an additional 446,568 shares during the period. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

GSK Stock Down 4.7%

Shares of GSK stock traded down $1.79 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $36.49. 14,696,915 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,076,396. The business has a 50 day moving average of $39.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. GSK PLC Sponsored ADR has a 52 week low of $31.72 and a 52 week high of $44.67. The company has a market capitalization of $74.72 billion, a PE ratio of 18.81, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.50.

GSK (NYSE:GSK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. GSK had a net margin of 9.89% and a return on equity of 48.82%. The company had revenue of $10.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that GSK PLC Sponsored ADR will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were 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 was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.62%. GSK's dividend payout ratio is currently 88.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on GSK shares. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of GSK in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of GSK in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $35.25 target price for the company. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of GSK to a "strong sell" rating in a research note 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $37.38.

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.