GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Major Shareholder Acquires $22,335,440.00 in Stock

GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) major shareholder Plc Gsk purchased 2,791,930 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.00 per share, for a total transaction of $22,335,440.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 16,775,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $134,205,528. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

GSK Price Performance

GSK stock opened at $38.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.82. GSK plc has a one year low of $33.67 and a one year high of $45.92. The company has a market cap of $79.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a fifty day moving average of $41.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.53.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.09. GSK had a net margin of 12.87% and a return on equity of 51.48%. The firm had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.49 billion. As a group, analysts predict that GSK plc will post 4.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $0.3843 dividend. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GSK

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GSK. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of GSK by 9.1% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,078 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC raised its position in GSK by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 10,087 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of GSK by 2.5% in the second quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 11,133 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of GSK by 4.7% in the first quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,097 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network increased its stake in shares of GSK by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 6,359 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GSK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays upgraded GSK to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Argus upgraded shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of GSK from $52.50 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $50.00.

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.