Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Cuts Holdings in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lessened its stake in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 14.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 356,674 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 58,853 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in GSK were worth $13,218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Callahan Advisors LLC purchased a new position in GSK in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,119,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN lifted its holdings in shares of GSK by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 3,961 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $147,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of GSK by 305.7% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 118,233 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,383,000 after acquiring an additional 89,089 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of GSK by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 76,840 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,785,000 after acquiring an additional 14,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of GSK in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,024,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:GSK traded up $0.48 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $39.75. 1,623,882 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,849,690. The company has a fifty day moving average of $41.89 and a 200 day moving average of $38.79. GSK plc has a 12 month low of $33.33 and a 12 month high of $43.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.21, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.64.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.79 billion. GSK had a net margin of 16.24% and a return on equity of 51.45%. On average, research analysts predict that GSK plc will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.3564 per share. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.43 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. GSK’s payout ratio is presently 52.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GSK. Citigroup upgraded shares of GSK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of GSK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of GSK in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of GSK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.