Cerity Partners LLC Buys 89,089 Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 305.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 118,233 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 89,089 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in GSK were worth $4,383,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GSK. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 676 shares during the period. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in GSK in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in GSK by 271.8% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 885 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in GSK in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in GSK by 52.9% in the 1st quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,090 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the period. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

GSK Trading Down 1.4 %

GSK opened at $39.95 on Wednesday. GSK plc has a twelve month low of $33.33 and a twelve month high of $43.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a fifty day moving average of $42.04 and a 200-day moving average of $38.76. The stock has a market cap of $82.78 billion, a PE ratio of 13.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.64.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.79 billion. GSK had a return on equity of 51.45% and a net margin of 16.24%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that GSK plc will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.3564 dividend. This represents a $1.43 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on GSK shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of GSK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of GSK in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Guggenheim upgraded shares of GSK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of GSK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

GSK Company 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.