Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $2.18 Million Position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 3.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,348 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,737 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in GSK were worth $2,181,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GSK. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in GSK by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 500,495 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $20,460,000 after acquiring an additional 83,433 shares in the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new position in shares of GSK during the third quarter valued at $62,000. Arjuna Capital increased its stake in shares of GSK by 144.3% in the third quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 78,934 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,227,000 after buying an additional 46,621 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of GSK by 6.7% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 66,645 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,724,000 after buying an additional 4,204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of GSK by 6.1% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 112,395 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,595,000 after buying an additional 6,468 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GSK opened at $34.32 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $37.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.13. GSK plc has a one year low of $32.83 and a one year high of $45.92. The firm has a market cap of $71.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.66.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.3928 per share. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.58%. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is presently 99.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on GSK shares. Barclays upgraded GSK to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Argus upgraded GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Guggenheim cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Plc Gsk bought 2,791,930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $8.00 per share, for a total transaction of $22,335,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,775,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $134,205,528. This trade represents a 19.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 10.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.