GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Stake Reduced by Holowesko Partners Ltd.

Holowesko Partners Ltd. trimmed its stake in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 76.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,000 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 40,000 shares during the quarter. GSK makes up about 0.2% of Holowesko Partners Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Holowesko Partners Ltd.’s holdings in GSK were worth $406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GSK. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its holdings in GSK by 70.1% in the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 25,261,660 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $854,349,000 after buying an additional 10,407,905 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of GSK by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,836,797 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $637,061,000 after purchasing an additional 259,867 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD increased its holdings in shares of GSK by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 5,838,384 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $205,920,000 after purchasing an additional 874,004 shares during the period. Equity Investment Corp raised 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in GSK by 30.8% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,542,143 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $144,803,000 after purchasing an additional 833,080 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE GSK opened at $38.74 on Friday. GSK plc has a 12 month low of $31.72 and a 12 month high of $45.93. The company has a market capitalization of $80.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.37, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.22 and its 200 day simple 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts expect that GSK plc will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.3932 dividend. This is a positive change from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.06%. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on GSK. StockNews.com raised shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of GSK in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.25.

GSK Company 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.