Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD Invests $3.97 Million in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD acquired a new position in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 115,385 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,971,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of GSK. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co increased its stake in GSK by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 750 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in GSK during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in GSK by 195.5% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 789 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in GSK by 73.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 711 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in GSK during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Price Performance

Shares of GSK opened at $39.47 on Wednesday. GSK plc has a 1-year low of $31.72 and a 1-year high of $45.93. The stock has a market cap of $81.81 billion, a PE ratio of 24.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, analysts forecast 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 paid a $0.3932 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. GSK’s payout ratio is currently 98.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GSK. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of GSK in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.25.

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.