GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Shares Sold by Sigma Planning Corp

Sigma Planning Corp reduced its stake in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 56.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,248 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 34,600 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in GSK were worth $973,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GSK. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in GSK by 2,816.7% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 700 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 676 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in GSK by 271.8% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 885 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in GSK in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in GSK by 62.2% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,327 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the period. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in GSK in the third quarter valued at $53,000. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on GSK shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of GSK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of GSK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of GSK in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of GSK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

GSK Stock Up 1.6 %

GSK stock opened at $41.24 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $85.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.64. GSK plc has a 52 week low of $33.33 and a 52 week high of $43.84. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $41.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.79 billion. GSK had a return on equity of 51.45% and a net margin of 16.24%. On average, research analysts expect that GSK plc will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is 52.82%.

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.