Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Sells 58,853 Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lowered its stake in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 14.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 356,674 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 58,853 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in GSK were worth $13,218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

GSK Trading Up 1.2 %

GSK stock traded up $0.48 during mid-day 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.88. GSK plc has a one year low of $33.33 and a one year high of $43.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.38 billion, a PE ratio of 13.21, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $41.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.79.

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

GSK Increases Dividend

The company 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 a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.43 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. GSK’s payout ratio is 52.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of GSK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Guggenheim upgraded shares of GSK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of GSK in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of GSK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, GSK currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.