GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Shares Acquired by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP grew its stake in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 107.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 965,836 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 500,010 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in GSK were worth $39,483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of GSK in the third quarter worth $26,000. Concord Wealth Partners increased its position in shares of GSK by 231.8% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 783 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in GSK in the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in GSK during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, PrairieView Partners LLC purchased a new stake in GSK in the second quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 15.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Plc Gsk acquired 2,791,930 shares of GSK stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.00 per share, for a total transaction of $22,335,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,775,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $134,205,528. The trade was a 19.97 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 10.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

GSK Stock Down 0.4 %

GSK opened at $34.02 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $37.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81. GSK plc has a fifty-two week low of $32.83 and a fifty-two week high of $45.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.09, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.66.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.3928 dividend. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.62%. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is presently 99.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GSK has been the subject of several research reports. Argus upgraded shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays raised GSK to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Guggenheim lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.25.

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.