GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Shares Acquired by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 31.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 163,660 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,100 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in GSK were worth $6,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in GSK during the 4th quarter valued at $4,033,000. Columbia Asset Management acquired a new stake in GSK during the 4th quarter valued at $233,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in GSK by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 844,039 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $28,545,000 after purchasing an additional 107,529 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in GSK by 44.5% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 8,126 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 2,504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in GSK during the 4th quarter worth $528,000. 15.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on GSK. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of GSK to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of GSK in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $35.25 price objective for the company. Finally, Berenberg Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of GSK in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.38.

GSK Trading Down 3.9%

NYSE GSK opened at $40.82 on Friday. GSK plc has a one year low of $31.72 and a one year high of $44.67. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.66 billion, a PE ratio of 25.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.52.

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

GSK Increases Dividend

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

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.