Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. Reduces Stock Holdings in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. trimmed its holdings in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 12,700 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 590 shares during the period. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd.’s holdings in GSK were worth $429,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GSK. Level Four Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of GSK by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,152 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of GSK by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 21,087 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $713,000 after purchasing an additional 3,581 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in shares of GSK in the fourth quarter valued at $76,000. Potentia Wealth purchased a new position in GSK during the fourth quarter worth about $381,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in GSK in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Stock Performance

Shares of GSK opened at $38.74 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $80.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.37, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. GSK plc has a 52-week low of $31.72 and a 52-week high of $45.93. The business’s 50 day moving average is $37.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.79.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 48.59%. Analysts forecast that GSK plc will post 4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.3932 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.06%. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GSK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.