Everstar Asset Management LLC Sells 4,531 Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Everstar Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 36.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 7,963 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 4,531 shares during the quarter. Everstar Asset Management LLC’s holdings in GSK were worth $269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its holdings in GSK by 70.1% during the fourth quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 25,261,660 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $854,349,000 after purchasing an additional 10,407,905 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of GSK by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,836,797 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $637,061,000 after buying an additional 259,867 shares during the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD grew its holdings in shares of GSK by 17.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 874,004 shares in the last quarter. Equity Investment Corp increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 466,327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in GSK by 30.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 833,080 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Stock Up 0.2 %

GSK stock opened at $38.81 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $37.33 and a 200-day moving average of $36.66. GSK plc has a fifty-two week low of $31.72 and a fifty-two week high of $45.93. The company has a market capitalization of $80.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.41, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.78.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last issued 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 net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 48.59%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that GSK plc will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm 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 represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.05%. This is a positive change from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. GSK’s payout ratio is currently 98.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GSK. Morgan Stanley began coverage on GSK in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.25.

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.