Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 5,608 Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,653 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,608 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in GSK were worth $3,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GSK. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co increased its holdings in shares of GSK by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 750 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of GSK during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of GSK by 195.5% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 789 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of GSK by 73.8% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 711 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of GSK during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GSK. StockNews.com upgraded GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on GSK in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.25.

GSK Trading Up 0.8 %

GSK stock opened at $39.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.52. GSK plc has a one year low of $31.72 and a one year high of $45.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.94 billion, a PE ratio of 24.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s fifty day moving average is $36.05 and its 200 day moving average is $37.06.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a return on equity of 48.59% and a net margin of 8.13%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that GSK plc will post 4.14 EPS for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.74%.

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.