Franklin Resources Inc. Has $5.64 Million Holdings in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK - Free Report) by 32.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 158,447 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 76,901 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in GSK were worth $5,641,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its holdings in shares of GSK by 70.1% in the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 25,261,660 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $854,349,000 after acquiring an additional 10,407,905 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in GSK by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,836,797 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $637,061,000 after buying an additional 259,867 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD increased its position in shares of GSK by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 5,838,384 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $205,920,000 after acquiring an additional 874,004 shares in the last quarter. Equity Investment Corp raised its holdings in shares of GSK by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 3,962,581 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $134,014,000 after acquiring an additional 466,327 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of GSK by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,094,105 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $70,823,000 after acquiring an additional 190,047 shares in the last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GSK. Morgan Stanley started coverage on GSK in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating for the company. StockNews.com upgraded GSK from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on GSK in a research note on Tuesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $35.25 target price on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $40.58.

GSK Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE GSK traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $35.74. The stock had a trading volume of 813,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,619,401. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $37.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.18. GSK plc has a 52 week low of $31.72 and a 52 week high of $45.93. The company has a market capitalization of $73.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.78.

GSK (NYSE:GSK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts anticipate that GSK plc will post 4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.3932 dividend. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.40%. This is an increase from GSK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. GSK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.63%.

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.