Natixis Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Natixis Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 31.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 343,334 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 157,161 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in GSK were worth $11,612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of GSK by 8.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,008,928 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,185,885,000 after purchasing an additional 2,224,345 shares during the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 874,004 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of GSK by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,576,930 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $759,425,000 after buying an additional 870,449 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 833,080 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY acquired a new stake in GSK during the fourth quarter worth about $23,366,000. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

GSK Stock Performance

NYSE:GSK opened at $39.53 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.81 billion, a PE ratio of 24.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58. GSK plc has a fifty-two week low of $31.72 and a fifty-two week high of $45.93. The company has a fifty day moving average of $36.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.98.

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

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.3932 dividend. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley started coverage on GSK in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, GSK currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.