AdvisorShares Investments LLC Makes New Investment in GSK PLC Sponsored ADR $GSK

AdvisorShares Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of GSK PLC Sponsored ADR (NYSE:GSK) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 22,100 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,220,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GSK. IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of GSK by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,010 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $736,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners increased its stake in GSK by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 1,395 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp raised its holdings in shares of GSK by 78.7% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 536 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Peoples Bank KS lifted its stake in shares of GSK by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Peoples Bank KS now owns 5,030 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY grew its holdings in shares of GSK by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 16,568 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $914,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. 15.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of GSK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of GSK in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of GSK from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.00.

GSK Stock Performance

GSK stock opened at $53.69 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $51.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.72 billion, a PE ratio of 13.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.79. GSK PLC Sponsored ADR has a one year low of $35.45 and a one year high of $61.69.

GSK Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. GSK’s payout ratio is presently 47.01%.

GSK Company Profile

GSK (GlaxoSmithKline plc) is a London-headquartered, multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company formed through the 2000 merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. The company is dual-listed and operates globally, developing, manufacturing and commercializing prescription medicines, vaccines and specialty treatments. Over its history GSK has evolved through portfolio reshaping and strategic transactions to focus on science-led pharmaceuticals and vaccines.

GSK’s core activities include research and development of therapies and vaccines across a range of therapeutic areas, commercial manufacturing, and global marketing.