Hills Bank & Trust Co Purchases 1,386 Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Hills Bank & Trust Co lifted its position in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,684 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,386 shares during the quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in GSK were worth $902,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of GSK during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD raised its position in shares of GSK by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 5,838,384 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $205,920,000 after purchasing an additional 874,004 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of GSK by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 103,653 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,506,000 after purchasing an additional 5,608 shares during the period. Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Ve Gananot Havera Menahelet LTD acquired a new position in shares of GSK during the fourth quarter worth approximately $11,584,000. Finally, Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD acquired a new position in shares of GSK during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,971,000. 15.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

GSK Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of GSK stock opened at $39.54 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $81.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58. 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 simple moving average of $36.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.06. GSK plc has a 12-month low of $31.72 and a 12-month high of $45.93.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a return on equity of 48.59% and a net margin of 8.13%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that GSK plc will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.3932 per share. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GSK. Morgan Stanley began coverage on GSK in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, GSK has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.25.

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.