Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Raises Holdings in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 6.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 112,395 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,468 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in GSK were worth $4,595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its stake in shares of GSK by 13.9% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 14,511,390 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $558,689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,773,020 shares in the last quarter. Provident Trust Co. grew its stake in GSK by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 3,953,602 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $161,623,000 after buying an additional 66,765 shares in the last quarter. Equity Investment Corp raised its holdings in GSK by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 3,433,202 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $132,178,000 after acquiring an additional 34,631 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in GSK by 30.9% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,347,993 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $90,398,000 after acquiring an additional 554,600 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in GSK by 33.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,256,320 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $86,875,000 after acquiring an additional 569,614 shares during the period. 15.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

GSK Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GSK opened at $33.35 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.75. GSK plc has a twelve month low of $32.83 and a twelve month high of $45.92.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.3928 dividend. This is a positive change from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GSK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Argus upgraded GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays upgraded GSK to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Guggenheim lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, GSK presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Plc Gsk acquired 2,791,930 shares of GSK stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.00 per share, for a total transaction of $22,335,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,775,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $134,205,528. This trade represents a 19.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 10.00% of the company’s stock.

GSK Company 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.