National Bank of Canada FI Lowers Holdings in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

National Bank of Canada FI reduced its position in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 64,365 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,709 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in GSK were worth $2,177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in GSK by 73.8% in the third 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. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co raised its holdings in GSK by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 750 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in GSK during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its holdings in GSK by 195.5% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of GSK in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE GSK opened at $34.08 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $37.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.40. GSK plc has a 52-week low of $31.72 and a 52-week high of $45.93. 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 company has a market cap of $70.54 billion, a PE ratio of 21.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.56.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, equities research analysts expect that GSK plc will post 4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.3932 per share. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on GSK shares. 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 research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.