Equity Investment Corp Boosts Holdings in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Equity Investment Corp lifted its holdings in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,496,254 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 63,052 shares during the period. GSK accounts for about 3.3% of Equity Investment Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Equity Investment Corp owned 0.17% of GSK worth $142,927,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GSK. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its stake in shares of GSK by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 14,511,390 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $558,689,000 after buying an additional 1,773,020 shares during the period. Provident Trust Co. grew its stake in GSK by 1.7% in the third quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 3,953,602 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $161,623,000 after acquiring an additional 66,765 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position 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 period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of GSK by 33.8% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC increased its stake in GSK by 17.3% during the 1st quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,651,754 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $70,811,000 after purchasing an additional 244,075 shares in the last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

GSK Stock Performance

NYSE:GSK traded up $0.35 during trading on Monday, reaching $33.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,801,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,105,554. The firm has a market cap of $69.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.66. GSK plc has a 12 month low of $32.83 and a 12 month high of $45.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $38.88 and a 200-day moving average of $40.61.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.3928 dividend. This is a positive change from GSK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.66%. GSK's payout ratio is currently 98.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GSK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Argus raised shares of GSK to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded GSK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Guggenheim cut GSK from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered GSK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of GSK to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from 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 news, major shareholder Plc Gsk bought 2,791,930 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.00 per share, with a total value of $22,335,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,775,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at $134,205,528. This represents a 19.97 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 10.00% of the company's stock.

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.