Simmons Bank Sells 1,997 Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Simmons Bank lessened its position in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 151,322 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,997 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in GSK were worth $5,118,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GSK. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of GSK by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 11,885 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in GSK by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 8,298 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 1,637 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in GSK by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 974,051 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,942,000 after buying an additional 20,659 shares in the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lifted its position in GSK by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 14,823 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $503,000 after buying an additional 1,818 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of GSK by 113.1% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 12,392 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 6,578 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Stock Up 3.5 %

GSK stock opened at $38.39 on Wednesday. GSK plc has a 1-year low of $31.72 and a 1-year high of $45.92. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.56 billion, a PE ratio of 24.14, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.64.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that GSK plc will post 4.14 EPS for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.3932 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 4.10%. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GSK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on GSK in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Guggenheim cut shares of 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 four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.