Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Lowers Stake in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC cut its stake in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,597,997 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 6,499 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned about 0.08% of GSK worth $54,044,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GSK. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its stake in shares of GSK by 70.1% in the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 25,261,660 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $854,349,000 after purchasing an additional 10,407,905 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD boosted its holdings in GSK by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 5,838,384 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $205,920,000 after acquiring an additional 874,004 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its position in GSK by 30.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,542,143 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $144,803,000 after acquiring an additional 833,080 shares during the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY purchased a new position in GSK in the 4th quarter worth approximately $23,366,000. Finally, Equity Investment Corp boosted its stake in shares of GSK by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 3,962,581 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $134,014,000 after purchasing an additional 466,327 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GSK opened at $38.74 on Friday. GSK plc has a 1 year low of $31.72 and a 1 year high of $45.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50-day moving average is $37.22 and its 200 day moving average is $36.74. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts expect that GSK plc will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. GSK’s payout ratio is 98.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on GSK. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of GSK in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Seven investment 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, GSK presently 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.