abrdn plc Makes New $1.55 Million Investment in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

abrdn plc bought a new position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 41,852 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $1,551,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GSK. Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in GSK by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 28,243 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,570 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of GSK by 3.9% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 528,658 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $19,164,000 after acquiring an additional 19,889 shares during the period. Callahan Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of GSK in the third quarter valued at about $1,119,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of GSK by 20.0% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,033 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $182,000 after acquiring an additional 838 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of GSK by 5.5% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 160,159 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $5,806,000 after acquiring an additional 8,327 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.74% of the company's stock.

GSK Stock Performance

Shares of GSK traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $41.43. 3,672,145 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,445,750. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $41.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.04. GSK plc has a 1 year low of $33.33 and a 1 year high of $43.84. The stock has a market cap of $85.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.64.

GSK (NYSE:GSK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.04). GSK had a net margin of 16.24% and a return on equity of 51.45%. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.79 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that GSK plc will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.3564 per share. This is a boost from GSK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.43 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. GSK's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GSK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Guggenheim upgraded shares of GSK from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of GSK from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of GSK in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of GSK from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

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.