Keating Investment Counselors Inc. Acquires Shares of 163,605 GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Keating Investment Counselors Inc. purchased a new position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 163,605 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $5,533,000. GSK accounts for 1.7% of Keating Investment Counselors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of GSK by 3.9% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 211,100 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $8,630,000 after purchasing an additional 7,854 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of GSK by 335.1% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,720 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 8,256 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of GSK by 40.7% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,764 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 3,405 shares in the last quarter. Ledyard National Bank grew its position in shares of GSK by 24.1% during the third quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 24,281 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $993,000 after purchasing an additional 4,712 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of GSK by 4.8% during the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,122 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $414,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

GSK Price Performance

Shares of GSK stock traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $36.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,644,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,666,008. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $34.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.36. GSK plc has a one year low of $31.72 and a one year high of $45.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $75.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.64.

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

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.3932 per share. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.29%. This is an increase from GSK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. GSK's dividend payout ratio is presently 93.08%.

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.