GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Shares Bought by Argent Trust Co

Argent Trust Co increased its stake in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,254 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 765 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in GSK were worth $1,280,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in GSK during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of GSK in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of GSK in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. PrairieView Partners LLC acquired a new position in GSK in the second quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of GSK during the second quarter worth $49,000. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

GSK Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE GSK opened at $41.65 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $86.32 billion, a PE ratio of 15.09, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.66. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $41.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.71. 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, July 31st. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $9.95 billion for 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 research analysts expect that GSK plc will post 4.15 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, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on GSK. Citigroup raised shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. UBS Group cut shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on GSK in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 target price for the company. Berenberg Bank raised GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of GSK to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Four 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. According to MarketBeat.com, GSK has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.00.

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.