Independent Advisor Alliance Increases Position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Independent Advisor Alliance raised its holdings in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 13.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,050 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 1,964 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in GSK were worth $577,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of GSK. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co boosted its position in shares of GSK by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 750 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of GSK during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of GSK by 195.5% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 789 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in GSK by 73.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 711 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in GSK in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on GSK shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of GSK in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four 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 $43.25.

GSK Price Performance

Shares of GSK opened at $39.54 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $36.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.01. GSK plc has a fifty-two week low of $31.72 and a fifty-two week high of $45.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.94 billion, a PE ratio of 24.86, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.78.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 48.59%. Equities analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.3932 per share. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. This is a positive change from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.74%.

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.