Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Raises Position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK - Free Report) by 68.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,237,034 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 907,068 shares during the period. GSK accounts for 0.4% of Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.11% of GSK worth $75,656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GSK. Grimes & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in GSK in the fourth quarter worth about $4,731,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of GSK in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,033,000. Kempner Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of GSK by 142.7% during the fourth quarter. Kempner Capital Management Inc. now owns 183,080 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $6,192,000 after purchasing an additional 107,648 shares in the last quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in GSK by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 217,200 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $7,346,000 after purchasing an additional 7,683 shares during the period. Finally, MADDEN SECURITIES Corp bought a new position in GSK in the fourth quarter worth $2,957,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.74% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of GSK to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of GSK in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set 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 issued 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 report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, GSK has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $40.58.

GSK Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GSK traded down $1.11 during trading on Thursday, hitting $38.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,448,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,749,627. 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 firm has a market cap of $79.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.67 and a 200-day moving average of $36.04. GSK plc has a 12 month low of $31.72 and a 12 month high of $45.93.

GSK (NYSE:GSK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. The firm 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 quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that GSK plc will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current 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. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from GSK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. GSK's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.