Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Sells 306 Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lessened its holdings in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 7.0% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,042 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 306 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in GSK were worth $156,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in GSK in 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 bought a new position in GSK during the second quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in GSK during the second quarter valued at $49,000. 15.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

GSK Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GSK opened at $40.88 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.49 and a 200 day moving average of $41.64. 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 stock has a market cap of $84.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.66. GSK plc has a 12 month low of $33.67 and a 12 month 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. 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 analyst estimates of $9.49 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that GSK plc will post 4.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a dividend of $0.3843 per share. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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. Berenberg Bank raised shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Barclays upgraded shares of GSK to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Citigroup upgraded shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Four 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target 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.