Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Invests $675,000 in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 19,741 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $675,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased 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. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of GSK by 2.0% during 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 during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its stake in shares of GSK by 6.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of GSK by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 10,403 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the period. Finally, Bond & Devick Financial Network Inc. boosted its stake in GSK by 5.4% during the third quarter. Bond & Devick Financial Network Inc. now owns 7,830 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

GSK Price Performance

GSK stock opened at $40.41 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.78. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.13. The company has a market capitalization of $83.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58. GSK plc has a 52-week low of $31.72 and a 52-week high of $45.93.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts expect that GSK plc will post 4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.3932 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.89%. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. GSK’s payout ratio is currently 98.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on GSK shares. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on GSK in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.