WealthTrust Axiom LLC Buys 5,568 Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

WealthTrust Axiom LLC lifted its position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 10.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,420 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 5,568 shares during the quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s holdings in GSK were worth $2,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GSK. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of GSK by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,346 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $158,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the period. KCS Wealth Advisory increased its holdings in shares of GSK by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. KCS Wealth Advisory now owns 21,391 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $775,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC raised its stake in GSK by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 11,513 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $430,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN lifted its holdings in GSK by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 3,961 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simmons Bank boosted its position in GSK by 0.3% during the third quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 134,584 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,879,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the period. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

GSK Price Performance

Shares of GSK stock traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $41.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,298,260 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,436,300. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. GSK plc has a fifty-two week low of $33.33 and a fifty-two week high of $43.84. The company has a market capitalization of $86.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.83, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.01.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.79 billion. GSK had a net margin of 16.24% and a return on equity of 51.45%. Sell-side analysts forecast that GSK plc will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.3564 per share. This represents a $1.43 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GSK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of GSK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of GSK in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Guggenheim raised GSK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of GSK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.