Empowered Funds LLC Makes New Investment in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 77,576 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $2,624,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GSK. FMR LLC boosted its position in GSK by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,008,928 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,185,885,000 after purchasing an additional 2,224,345 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in GSK by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,576,930 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $759,425,000 after purchasing an additional 870,449 shares during the period. Clifford Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in GSK by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC now owns 409,669 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $16,747,000 after purchasing an additional 51,378 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in GSK by 61.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 433,628 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $17,728,000 after purchasing an additional 165,556 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in GSK by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 500,495 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $20,460,000 after purchasing an additional 83,433 shares during the period. 15.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

GSK Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of GSK stock traded down $0.36 during trading on Monday, reaching $36.20. The company had a trading volume of 4,541,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,879,423. The company has a market cap of $75.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.64. The firm's fifty day moving average is $34.42 and its 200-day moving average is $37.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.78. GSK plc has a fifty-two week low of $31.72 and a fifty-two week high of $45.92.

GSK (NYSE:GSK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 48.59%. On average, analysts anticipate that GSK plc will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.3932 per share. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from GSK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. GSK's dividend payout ratio is currently 93.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GSK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of GSK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of GSK in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "equal weight" rating for the company. Guggenheim lowered shares of GSK from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of GSK from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of GSK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $53.00 to $39.50 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, GSK has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.25.

About GSK

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.