Equity Investment Corp Grows Stock Position in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Equity Investment Corp raised its holdings in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,496,254 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 63,052 shares during the period. GSK comprises 3.3% of Equity Investment Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Equity Investment Corp’s holdings in GSK were worth $142,927,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its position in GSK by 13.9% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 14,511,390 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $558,689,000 after acquiring an additional 1,773,020 shares during the last quarter. Provident Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of GSK by 1.7% during the third quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 3,953,602 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $161,623,000 after purchasing an additional 66,765 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of GSK by 30.9% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,347,993 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $90,398,000 after purchasing an additional 554,600 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of GSK by 33.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,256,320 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $86,875,000 after purchasing an additional 569,614 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of GSK by 17.3% during the first quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,651,754 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $70,811,000 after purchasing an additional 244,075 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upgraded GSK to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Guggenheim lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Argus raised GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, GSK currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at GSK

In other GSK news, major shareholder Plc Gsk purchased 2,791,930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.00 per share, with a total value of $22,335,440.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 16,775,691 shares in the company, valued at $134,205,528. This represents a 19.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 10.00% of the company’s stock.

GSK Price Performance

GSK stock opened at $33.35 on Monday. GSK plc has a one year low of $32.83 and a one year high of $45.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $39.08 and its 200 day moving average is $40.68. The firm has a market cap of $69.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.66.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.3928 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This is a positive change from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.71%. GSK’s payout ratio is 98.70%.

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.