Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Reduces Stake in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership reduced its holdings in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 94.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 218,256 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,651,243 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in GSK were worth $7,381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Level Four Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of GSK by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,152 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in GSK by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 21,087 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $713,000 after buying an additional 3,581 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in GSK during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Potentia Wealth purchased a new position in shares of GSK during the 4th quarter worth approximately $381,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of GSK in the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. 15.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

GSK Trading Down 6.5 %

Shares of GSK stock opened at $36.49 on Monday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $37.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.53 billion, a PE ratio of 22.95, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.56. GSK plc has a 52-week low of $31.72 and a 52-week high of $45.93.

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%. On average, analysts predict that GSK plc will post 4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.3932 per share. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.31%. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on GSK shares. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of GSK in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock 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.