Sphera Funds Management LTD. Buys 30,000 Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Sphera Funds Management LTD. raised its stake in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK - Free Report) by 30.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 130,000 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 30,000 shares during the period. Sphera Funds Management LTD.'s holdings in GSK were worth $4,397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GSK. Brookstone Capital Management grew its position in shares of GSK by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 31,701 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 5,244 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of GSK by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV now owns 91,530 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,096,000 after purchasing an additional 5,259 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC grew its position in shares of GSK by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 11,966 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 2,301 shares during the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of GSK by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 34,274 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,159,000 after purchasing an additional 5,967 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of GSK in the fourth quarter valued at about $316,000. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

GSK Price Performance

NYSE GSK traded up $0.31 during trading on Monday, reaching $37.95. 3,866,267 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,847,459. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $37.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.96. The company has a market cap of $78.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.51. GSK plc has a 1-year low of $31.72 and a 1-year high of $45.80.

GSK (NYSE:GSK - Get Free Report) last released 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. GSK had a return on equity of 48.59% and a net margin of 8.13%. The company had revenue of $10.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that GSK plc will post 4.14 EPS for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.4216 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.44%. This is a boost from GSK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. GSK's payout ratio is 86.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GSK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on GSK in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $35.25 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised GSK from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on GSK in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised GSK to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $40.58.

GSK Company 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.