Assetmark Inc. Increases Stake in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 279.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 75,149 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 55,354 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in GSK were worth $2,542,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in GSK by 73.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 711 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its position in GSK by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,693 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $682,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its position in GSK by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 5,608 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its position in GSK by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 10,403 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bond & Devick Financial Network Inc. grew its position in GSK by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bond & Devick Financial Network Inc. now owns 7,830 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on GSK. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of GSK in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.25.

GSK Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GSK opened at $40.08 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $35.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.14. GSK plc has a twelve month low of $31.72 and a twelve month high of $45.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.07 billion, a PE ratio of 25.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 48.59%. Equities research analysts expect that GSK plc will post 4.14 EPS for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.3932 dividend. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is 98.74%.

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.