GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Shares Purchased by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 2.7% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 157,266 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 4,082 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in GSK were worth $6,742,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GSK. Cardinal Capital Management grew its stake in shares of GSK by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 54,174 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,343,000 after purchasing an additional 4,332 shares during the last quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC increased its stake in GSK by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 11,162 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $479,000 after buying an additional 494 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its stake in GSK by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 30,691 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,316,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the period. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC raised its position in GSK by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 57,452 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,463,000 after buying an additional 2,857 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of GSK by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 11,019 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of GSK stock opened at $38.50 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $42.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.23. GSK plc has a 12-month low of $33.67 and a 12-month high of $45.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $79.79 billion, a PE ratio of 13.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.66.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $9.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.98 billion. GSK had a return on equity of 51.54% and a net margin of 14.62%. On average, research analysts anticipate that GSK plc will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.3762 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. GSK’s payout ratio is 53.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim raised shares of GSK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Citigroup raised GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Berenberg Bank upgraded GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on GSK in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, GSK currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.00.

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.