Hoey Investments Inc. Takes Position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 13,379 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $452,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of GSK by 73.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 711 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co lifted its position in GSK by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 750 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in GSK during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of GSK by 195.5% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 789 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of GSK in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Price Performance

GSK stock opened at $38.74 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $37.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.69. The firm has a market cap of $80.19 billion, a PE ratio of 24.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. GSK plc has a 52-week low of $31.72 and a 52-week high of $45.93.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a return on equity of 48.59% and a net margin of 8.13%. On average, research analysts expect that GSK plc will post 4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.3932 per share. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.06%. This is a positive change from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GSK. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of GSK in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. StockNews.com upgraded GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.25.

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.