First Trust Advisors LP Grows Position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK - Free Report) by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,257,252 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 98,739 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.06% of GSK worth $42,520,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its position in shares of GSK by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 11,506 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC boosted its stake in GSK by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC now owns 14,009 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $474,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in GSK by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 10,403 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $352,000 after buying an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of GSK by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $413,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its holdings in shares of GSK by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 7,756 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 15.74% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on GSK. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of GSK in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $35.25 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley began coverage on GSK in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded GSK from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $40.58.

GSK Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of GSK stock traded up $0.57 on Tuesday, hitting $38.63. The stock had a trading volume of 2,041,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,706,788. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $37.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.99. GSK plc has a one year low of $31.72 and a one year high of $45.93. The company has a market cap of $79.69 billion, a PE ratio of 24.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.56. 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 (NYSE:GSK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 48.59%. Research analysts anticipate that GSK plc will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.3932 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from GSK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.07%. GSK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.63%.

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.