GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Shares Sold by Royal Fund Management LLC

Royal Fund Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 43.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,025 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 18,431 shares during the period. Royal Fund Management LLC’s holdings in GSK were worth $813,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in GSK by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,008,928 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,185,885,000 after purchasing an additional 2,224,345 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of GSK in the second quarter worth about $52,487,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in GSK by 4.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 870,449 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in GSK by 30.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,542,143 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $144,803,000 after acquiring an additional 833,080 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in 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. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim downgraded GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of GSK from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $39.50 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.25.

GSK Stock Performance

NYSE:GSK opened at $33.76 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.92, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81. GSK plc has a fifty-two week low of $31.72 and a fifty-two week high of $45.92. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $33.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.94.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.3928 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.65%. GSK’s payout ratio is presently 95.45%.

GSK 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.