GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Shares Bought by Truist Financial Corp

Truist Financial Corp increased its position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 45.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 182,684 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 57,423 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in GSK were worth $6,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co grew its holdings in shares of GSK by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 750 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of GSK in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of GSK in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of GSK by 195.5% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 789 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of GSK by 73.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 711 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Price Performance

GSK stock opened at $36.62 on Friday. GSK plc has a 52-week low of $31.72 and a 52-week high of $45.92. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.64.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a return on equity of 48.59% and a net margin of 8.13%. Equities research analysts expect that GSK plc will post 4.14 EPS for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.3932 per share. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.29%. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on GSK shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on GSK in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. StockNews.com raised GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Guggenheim cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $53.00 to $39.50 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut 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 four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.