Ritholtz Wealth Management Sells 994 Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Ritholtz Wealth Management trimmed its position in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 56,047 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 994 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in GSK were worth $2,077,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GSK. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in GSK by 255.5% during the second quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,690,026 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $274,071,000 after buying an additional 5,526,736 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in GSK by 32.5% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 9,621,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $419,107,000 after buying an additional 2,362,274 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in GSK by 48.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,113,039 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $309,844,000 after buying an additional 2,316,204 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in GSK during the fourth quarter worth $73,232,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP increased its holdings in GSK by 146.7% during the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,917,836 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $103,992,000 after buying an additional 1,735,217 shares during the last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

GSK Stock Performance

Shares of GSK stock traded down $0.13 on Thursday, hitting $42.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,854,652 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,572,673. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $41.62 and its 200-day moving average is $38.35. 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 $88.22 billion, a PE ratio of 14.27, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.64.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.04). GSK had a net margin of 16.24% and a return on equity of 51.45%. The business had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.79 billion. Equities research analysts expect that GSK plc will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.3564 per share. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.43 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on GSK shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of GSK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of GSK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of GSK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of GSK in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

GSK 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.