Diversified Trust Co Takes $878,000 Position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Diversified Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 20,478 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $878,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GSK. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in GSK in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $92,281,000. Armistice Capital LLC raised its position in GSK by 670.5% in the fourth quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 2,196,000 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $81,384,000 after purchasing an additional 1,911,000 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in GSK by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 15,065,558 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $558,330,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465,165 shares during the period. Provident Trust Co. raised its position in GSK by 53.6% in the fourth quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 3,716,830 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $137,746,000 after purchasing an additional 1,297,385 shares during the period. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new stake in GSK in the third quarter valued at approximately $45,114,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Stock Performance

Shares of GSK stock opened at $38.21 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $42.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.24. The company has a market cap of $79.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.87, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.64. GSK plc has a 12 month low of $33.67 and a 12 month high of $45.92.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 14.62% and a return on equity of 51.54%. Sell-side analysts predict that GSK plc will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.3762 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. GSK’s payout ratio is presently 53.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on GSK shares. Berenberg Bank raised GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on GSK from $52.50 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup raised GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on GSK in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.00.

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.