336,615 Shares in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Acquired by Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Ve Gananot Havera Menahelet LTD

Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Ve Gananot Havera Menahelet LTD purchased a new position in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 336,615 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,584,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GSK. United Bank boosted its holdings in shares of GSK by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 25,785 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,054,000 after buying an additional 1,760 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in GSK by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,823 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 1,402 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in GSK by 137.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 19,795 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $809,000 after purchasing an additional 11,448 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in GSK by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,693 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $682,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in GSK by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 39,560 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,617,000 after purchasing an additional 9,017 shares during the last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

GSK Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE GSK opened at $39.47 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.78. GSK plc has a 52 week low of $31.72 and a 52 week high of $45.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.82, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $35.72 and its 200 day moving average is $37.10.

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

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.3932 dividend. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. GSK’s payout ratio is currently 98.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on GSK. StockNews.com upgraded GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on GSK in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.25.

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.