GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Shares Sold by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can decreased its holdings in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 330,652 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 10,713 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in GSK were worth $13,365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in GSK in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in GSK in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in GSK in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. PrairieView Partners LLC acquired a new position in GSK in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in GSK in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on GSK. Berenberg Bank raised shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of GSK from $52.50 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Argus raised shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays raised shares of GSK to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $50.00.

GSK Stock Down 0.5 %

GSK stock opened at $40.71 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $84.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. GSK plc has a 1-year low of $33.67 and a 1-year high of $45.92.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.49 billion. GSK had a net margin of 12.87% and a return on equity of 51.48%. Sell-side analysts forecast that GSK plc will post 4.17 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, October 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $0.3843 dividend. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.71%.

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.