GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Shares Sold by Invesco Ltd.

Invesco Ltd. cut its stake in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK - Free Report) by 67.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,606 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 15,460 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd.'s holdings in GSK were worth $257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GSK. FMR LLC lifted its position in GSK by 82.1% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 52,823,032 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,786,475,000 after acquiring an additional 23,814,104 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its position in GSK by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 4,153,616 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $140,475,000 after buying an additional 446,568 shares during the last quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. lifted its stake in shares of GSK by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 6,528 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $221,000 after acquiring an additional 1,450 shares during the period. Provident Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of GSK by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Provident Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,675 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $733,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100 shares during the period. Finally, Yoffe Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in GSK in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $462,000. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

GSK Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:GSK traded up $0.06 on Friday, hitting $36.93. 1,703,004 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,776,032. The stock has a market cap of $76.20 billion, a PE ratio of 23.23, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.51. GSK plc has a fifty-two week low of $31.72 and a fifty-two week high of $45.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $37.68 and a 200-day moving average of $36.01.

GSK (NYSE:GSK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $10.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that GSK plc will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.4216 dividend. This is a boost from GSK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. GSK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 86.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.