Optimist Retirement Group LLC Acquires 4,581 Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Optimist Retirement Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 10.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,764 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,581 shares during the period. Optimist Retirement Group LLC’s holdings in GSK were worth $1,839,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in GSK in the second quarter worth about $349,000. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in GSK by 14.9% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 23,493 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,007,000 after purchasing an additional 3,044 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in GSK in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,129,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in GSK by 448.7% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 17,690 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $758,000 after purchasing an additional 14,466 shares during the period. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in GSK in the first quarter worth $235,000. 15.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

GSK Stock Performance

Shares of GSK opened at $42.43 on Thursday. GSK plc has a 12-month low of $33.67 and a 12-month high of $45.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $87.94 billion, a PE ratio of 15.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $41.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.71.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.49 billion. GSK had a net margin of 12.87% and a return on equity of 51.48%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that GSK plc will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $0.3843 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This is a positive change from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. GSK’s payout ratio is 54.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GSK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on GSK from $52.50 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Argus upgraded shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays raised shares of GSK to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of GSK in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.