Primecap Management Co. CA Raises Position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Primecap Management Co. CA grew its holdings in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 13.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,511,390 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,773,020 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in GSK were worth $558,689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in GSK. Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of GSK during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of GSK in the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of GSK in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. PrairieView Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of GSK in the 2nd quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of GSK in the 1st quarter worth $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:GSK opened at $43.55 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $90.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.66. GSK plc has a one year low of $33.67 and a one year high of $45.92. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.82.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.49 billion. GSK had a return on equity of 51.48% and a net margin of 12.87%. Sell-side analysts predict that GSK plc will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $0.3843 dividend. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. GSK’s payout ratio is presently 54.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on GSK shares. Citigroup raised GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Berenberg Bank raised GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on GSK from $52.50 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on GSK in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Argus upgraded GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.00.

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.