GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Shares Purchased by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK - Free Report) by 42.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 544,079 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 161,448 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in GSK were worth $20,947,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in GSK by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,777,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $65,883,000 after purchasing an additional 18,585 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP raised its stake in GSK by 1,710.6% during the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 121,746 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,512,000 after acquiring an additional 115,022 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in GSK by 1,598.7% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,582 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 2,430 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of GSK by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 64,336 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,451,000 after purchasing an additional 602 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Union Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of GSK by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 2,928 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.74% of the company's stock.

GSK Price Performance

GSK stock traded down $0.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $40.80. The company had a trading volume of 5,027,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,582,050. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $41.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.70. The company has a market capitalization of $84.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.54. GSK plc has a 1 year low of $33.67 and a 1 year high of $45.92.

GSK (NYSE:GSK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.49 billion. GSK had a return on equity of 51.48% and a net margin of 12.87%. On average, equities analysts predict that GSK plc will post 4.15 EPS for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $0.3843 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This is a positive change from GSK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. GSK's payout ratio is currently 54.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GSK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays upgraded shares of GSK to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of GSK from $52.50 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of GSK to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Argus upgraded GSK to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup raised GSK to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, GSK currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.00.

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.