The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Purchases 300,310 Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK - Free Report) by 29.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,318,799 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 300,310 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.06% of GSK worth $44,602,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co raised its holdings in GSK by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 750 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of GSK during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its position in GSK by 195.5% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 789 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in GSK during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of GSK by 470.1% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 992 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares during the period. 15.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GSK. Hsbc Global Res upgraded GSK to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of GSK in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $35.25 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of GSK in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "equal weight" rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of GSK from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, GSK presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $40.58.

GSK Stock Performance

NYSE:GSK traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $38.88. The stock had a trading volume of 1,728,935 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,725,055. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $37.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.00. The stock has a market cap of $80.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.43, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.78. GSK plc has a twelve month low of $31.72 and a twelve month high of $45.93.

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

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.4216 per share. This represents a $1.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This is a boost from GSK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. GSK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.