Meritage Portfolio Management Has $6.56 Million Holdings in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Meritage Portfolio Management lowered its position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 177,022 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,708 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in GSK were worth $6,560,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in GSK by 7.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,099,513 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $656,107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,291,161 shares in the last quarter. Kahn Brothers Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of GSK in the third quarter valued at $46,483,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of GSK in the third quarter valued at $45,114,000. Morningstar Investment Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of GSK by 1,684.1% in the third quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 1,136,495 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $41,300,000 after buying an additional 1,072,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of GSK in the third quarter valued at $25,625,000. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

GSK Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of GSK traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $41.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,508,714 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,425,330. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. GSK plc has a 52 week low of $33.33 and a 52 week high of $43.84. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $41.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.92. The stock has a market cap of $85.45 billion, a PE ratio of 13.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.64.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.04). GSK had a return on equity of 51.45% and a net margin of 16.24%. The firm had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.79 billion. On average, analysts predict that GSK plc will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.3564 dividend. This represents a $1.43 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. GSK’s payout ratio is presently 52.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of GSK in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of GSK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of GSK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded shares of GSK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, GSK presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.