Royal Fund Management LLC Raises Position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Royal Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,389 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 1,065 shares during the period. Royal Fund Management LLC’s holdings in GSK were worth $904,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in GSK by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 528,658 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $19,164,000 after purchasing an additional 19,889 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in GSK by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 160,159 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,806,000 after buying an additional 8,327 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in GSK by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 307,057 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,131,000 after acquiring an additional 45,890 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its holdings in GSK by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 21,458 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $778,000 after acquiring an additional 2,536 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of GSK in the third quarter valued at about $268,000. 15.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

GSK Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:GSK traded up $0.15 during trading on Friday, hitting $43.50. The stock had a trading volume of 4,048,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,498,257. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. GSK plc has a 12 month low of $33.33 and a 12 month high of $43.84. The company has a market capitalization of $90.15 billion, a PE ratio of 15.76, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $41.87 and its 200 day moving average is $39.14.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.79 billion. GSK had a return on equity of 51.54% and a net margin of 14.62%. Analysts anticipate that GSK plc will post 4.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $0.3762 dividend. This is a positive change from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. GSK’s payout ratio is presently 57.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on GSK shares. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on GSK in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Guggenheim upgraded GSK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of GSK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.