GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its stake in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,611 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,082 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in GSK were worth $1,987,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in GSK by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 64,336 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,451,000 after buying an additional 602 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of GSK by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,633 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in GSK by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,031,667 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $38,234,000 after purchasing an additional 41,632 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC acquired a new stake in GSK during the 4th quarter worth $201,000. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in GSK by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 30,996 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 887 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at GSK

In other news, major shareholder Plc Gsk bought 2,791,930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.00 per share, for a total transaction of $22,335,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,775,691 shares in the company, valued at $134,205,528. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 10.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on GSK shares. Berenberg Bank raised shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Barclays raised GSK to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Citigroup raised GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on GSK from $52.50 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Argus raised shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.00.

GSK Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:GSK opened at $40.30 on Wednesday. GSK plc has a 1 year low of $33.67 and a 1 year high of $45.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $41.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.60, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.66.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.09. GSK had a net margin of 12.87% and a return on equity of 51.48%. The firm had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.49 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that GSK plc will post 4.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $0.3843 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.71%.

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.