Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. Has $54.90 Million Stock Position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. increased its position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK - Free Report) by 32.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,623,203 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 398,433 shares during the quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of GSK worth $54,897,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co raised its holdings in shares of GSK by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 750 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in GSK in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings 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 during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in GSK in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 818 shares during the period. 15.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

GSK Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GSK traded up $0.07 on Friday, reaching $37.64. 7,221,976 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,839,524. 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 company has a market capitalization of $77.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.67, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a fifty day moving average of $37.39 and a 200-day moving average of $35.97. GSK plc has a twelve month low of $31.72 and a twelve month high of $45.80.

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

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.4216 per share. This is a positive change from GSK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.48%. GSK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 86.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GSK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of GSK in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of GSK to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of GSK from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of GSK in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $35.25 price target on the stock. One 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.com, the company currently has a consensus 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.