Columbia Asset Management Reduces Stock Holdings in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Columbia Asset Management decreased its stake in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 6.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,411 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 474 shares during the quarter. Columbia Asset Management’s holdings in GSK were worth $248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GSK. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its stake in shares of GSK by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 11,506 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $389,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Bank & Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of GSK by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwest Bank & Trust Co now owns 22,405 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $765,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC lifted its stake in shares of GSK by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC now owns 14,009 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $474,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of GSK by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 18,403 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $713,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of GSK by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 10,403 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Trading Up 0.9%

GSK opened at $40.83 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $84.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.68, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. GSK plc has a 12 month low of $31.72 and a 12 month high of $44.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $37.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.28.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $10.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.52 billion. GSK had a return on equity of 48.59% and a net margin of 8.13%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that GSK plc will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.4216 per share. This represents a $1.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.13%. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. GSK’s payout ratio is 86.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Hsbc Global Res raised GSK to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on GSK in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $35.25 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on GSK in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Finally, Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of GSK in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, GSK has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.38.

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.