Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 18,539 Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 235,348 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,539 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in GSK were worth $9,052,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake 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. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of GSK by 9.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,542 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in GSK by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,693 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $682,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in GSK by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,535 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $213,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Plc Gsk acquired 2,791,930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.00 per share, for a total transaction of $22,335,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,775,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $134,205,528. This trade represents a 19.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 10.00% of the company’s stock.

GSK Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE GSK opened at $33.60 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $35.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.92. The company has a market capitalization of $69.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. GSK plc has a 52 week low of $32.83 and a 52 week high of $45.92.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.3928 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.68%. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. GSK’s payout ratio is currently 98.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GSK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Guggenheim cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com downgraded GSK from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of GSK to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.25.

GSK Company 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.