GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Stake Boosted by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 652,865 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 58,056 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in GSK were worth $22,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of GSK during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in shares of GSK by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 2,233 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of GSK by 133.7% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 38,150 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,290,000 after acquiring an additional 21,826 shares during the period. GM Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of GSK by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 8,035 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Koss Olinger Consulting LLC increased its stake in shares of GSK by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC now owns 67,969 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,299,000 after acquiring an additional 5,583 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:GSK opened at $38.74 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $80.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $37.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.69. GSK plc has a 52 week low of $31.72 and a 52 week high of $45.93.

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

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.3932 per share. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is 98.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GSK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on GSK in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. StockNews.com raised GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.25.

About GSK

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.