Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 18,539 Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK - Free Report) by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 235,348 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,539 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in GSK were worth $9,052,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of GSK in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners increased its stake in GSK by 231.8% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 783 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in GSK during the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in GSK during the third quarter valued at about $42,000. 15.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Plc Gsk bought 2,791,930 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.00 per share, for a total transaction of $22,335,440.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 16,775,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at $134,205,528. The trade was a 19.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 10.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on GSK. Guggenheim cut GSK from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of GSK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of GSK from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Barclays raised shares of GSK to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of GSK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, GSK has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.25.

GSK Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GSK traded up $0.17 on Friday, reaching $33.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,812,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,166,597. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.92. GSK plc has a 52-week low of $32.83 and a 52-week high of $45.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $69.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.82, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.64.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.3928 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.68%. This is a positive change from GSK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. GSK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.70%.

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.