Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. Buys 253,320 Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. grew its stake in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 404.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 315,933 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 253,320 shares during the quarter. GSK comprises about 1.9% of Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd.’s holdings in GSK were worth $10,685,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in GSK by 73.8% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 711 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co increased its stake in shares of GSK by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 750 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in GSK during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in GSK by 195.5% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 789 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in GSK in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 15.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

GSK Stock Performance

Shares of GSK stock opened at $37.33 on Friday. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $34.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.30. GSK plc has a 52 week low of $31.72 and a 52 week high of $45.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.36 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.64.

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

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.3932 per share. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. GSK’s payout ratio is currently 98.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on GSK in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Guggenheim lowered shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.25.

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.