Whittier Trust Co. Acquires 21,826 Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Whittier Trust Co. boosted its holdings in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK - Free Report) by 133.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,150 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 21,826 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.'s holdings in GSK were worth $1,290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co increased its position in GSK by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 750 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in GSK in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of GSK by 195.5% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 789 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of GSK by 73.8% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 711 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of GSK in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GSK. StockNews.com raised GSK from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of GSK in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Seven 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.25.

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GSK Price Performance

Shares of GSK stock traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $38.65. 5,835,438 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,353,982. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.80. 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 firm has a market cap of $80.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.31, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58. GSK plc has a 52 week low of $31.72 and a 52 week high of $45.93.

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

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.3932 per share. This is a positive change from GSK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.07%. GSK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.74%.

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.