Central Pacific Bank Trust Division Decreases Position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lowered its stake in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 22,049 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division’s holdings in GSK were worth $746,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. DGS Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of GSK by 3.9% during the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 34,438 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304 shares during the period. Logan Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in GSK by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 83,923 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,431,000 after purchasing an additional 3,083 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in GSK by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 235,348 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,052,000 after buying an additional 18,539 shares during the period. Optimist Retirement Group LLC lifted its holdings in GSK by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 49,554 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,026,000 after buying an additional 1,790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in GSK in the 3rd quarter valued at about $787,000. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

GSK Stock Performance

GSK stock opened at $33.47 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $69.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. GSK plc has a 12-month low of $32.83 and a 12-month high of $45.92.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.3928 dividend. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $53.00 to $39.50 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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.