FORA Capital LLC Takes Position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 32,531 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $1,100,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in GSK by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 235,348 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $9,052,000 after buying an additional 18,539 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of GSK by 195.5% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 789 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in GSK by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 27,316 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $924,000 after purchasing an additional 4,107 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new position in GSK in the fourth quarter valued at about $390,000. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management increased its position in GSK by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 31,701 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 5,244 shares during the last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GSK has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised GSK from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of GSK in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "equal weight" rating on the stock. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of GSK in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $35.25 price objective for the company. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of GSK to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $40.58.

GSK Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GSK traded down $1.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $36.36. 5,083,822 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,800,464. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.51. GSK plc has a one year low of $31.72 and a one year high of $45.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The company's 50 day moving average is $37.62 and its 200 day moving average is $35.97.

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

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.4216 dividend. This represents a $1.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This is a positive change from GSK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. GSK's payout ratio is 86.60%.

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.