DGS Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

DGS Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 3.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 34,438 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 1,304 shares during the quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC’s holdings in GSK were worth $1,408,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GSK. FMR LLC grew its stake in GSK by 8.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its holdings in shares of GSK by 13.9% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 14,511,390 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $558,689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,773,020 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in GSK in the second quarter valued at approximately $52,487,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in GSK by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,576,930 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $759,425,000 after buying an additional 870,449 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its position in GSK by 30.8% during the 3rd 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. 15.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on GSK shares. Guggenheim downgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays raised GSK to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. StockNews.com raised GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target 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 and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at GSK

In other GSK news, major shareholder Plc Gsk bought 2,791,930 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.00 per share, with a total value of $22,335,440.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 16,775,691 shares in the company, valued at $134,205,528. This trade represents a 19.97 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 10.00% of the company’s stock.

GSK Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GSK traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $33.85. 778,445 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,146,797. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.36. GSK plc has a 1 year low of $32.83 and a 1 year high of $45.92. The company has a market cap of $70.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.19, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.64. 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.3928 dividend. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.64%. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. GSK’s payout ratio is presently 99.35%.

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.