Equity Investment Corp Boosts Position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Equity Investment Corp increased its stake in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 13.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,962,581 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 466,327 shares during the quarter. GSK accounts for approximately 3.1% of Equity Investment Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Equity Investment Corp’s holdings in GSK were worth $134,014,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in GSK by 73.8% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 711 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of GSK by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,693 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $682,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its position in GSK by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 5,608 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Bond & Devick Financial Network Inc. grew its position in GSK by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bond & Devick Financial Network Inc. now owns 7,830 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its stake in GSK by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Price Performance

GSK stock opened at $37.37 on Thursday. GSK plc has a 52 week low of $31.72 and a 52 week high of $45.92. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $34.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.30. The stock has a market cap of $77.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a return on equity of 48.59% and a net margin of 8.13%. On average, equities analysts predict that GSK plc will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.3932 dividend. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. GSK’s payout ratio is 98.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim cut shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on GSK in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, GSK has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.25.

GSK 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.