GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Shares Sold by Independence Bank of Kentucky

Independence Bank of Kentucky cut its holdings in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 41.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,031 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 4,277 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in GSK were worth $259,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of GSK by 2,816.7% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 700 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 676 shares during the period. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of GSK in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of GSK in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of GSK in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of GSK by 62.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,327 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 509 shares during the period. 15.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on GSK shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of GSK in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price target for the company. Berenberg Bank raised shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Citigroup raised shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Guggenheim raised shares of GSK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.00.

GSK Trading Down 0.4 %

GSK stock opened at $38.50 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $42.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.95, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.66. GSK plc has a 52-week low of $33.67 and a 52-week high of $45.92.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.15. GSK had a net margin of 14.62% and a return on equity of 51.54%. The company had revenue of $9.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.98 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that GSK plc will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.3762 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. GSK’s payout ratio is 53.26%.

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.