GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Shares Sold by Bank of America Corp DE

Bank of America Corp DE cut its stake in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,982,263 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 278,431 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE’s holdings in GSK were worth $67,040,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GSK. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co grew its position in shares of GSK by 200.0% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in GSK during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in GSK during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of 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. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of GSK in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. 15.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

GSK Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:GSK opened at $37.34 on Tuesday. GSK plc has a twelve month low of $31.72 and a twelve month high of $45.93. The firm has a market cap of $77.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50 day moving average of $37.62 and a 200-day moving average of $35.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $10.06 billion during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that GSK plc will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.4216 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.52%. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 86.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.