Fmr LLC Buys 23,814,104 Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Fmr LLC lifted its stake in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 82.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 52,823,032 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,814,104 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC owned 2.55% of GSK worth $1,786,475,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GSK. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in GSK by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 604,973 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $24,731,000 after purchasing an additional 53,440 shares in the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. bought a new position in GSK during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,731,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in GSK in the 4th quarter worth $4,033,000. Kempner Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of GSK by 142.7% in the fourth quarter. Kempner Capital Management Inc. now owns 183,080 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,192,000 after buying an additional 107,648 shares during the period. Finally, Stockman Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of GSK by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 217,200 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,346,000 after acquiring an additional 7,683 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on GSK. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on 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 report on Friday, February 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, GSK has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.25.

GSK Stock Down 6.5 %

Shares of GSK stock opened at $36.49 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. GSK plc has a 12-month low of $31.72 and a 12-month high of $45.93. The company has a market cap of $75.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.95, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.51.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a return on equity of 48.59% and a net margin of 8.13%. Research analysts anticipate that GSK plc will post 4.14 EPS for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.3932 per share. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.31%. GSK’s 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.