Causeway Capital Management LLC Acquires 179,174 Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Causeway Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 20.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,076,580 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 179,174 shares during the period. Causeway Capital Management LLC’s holdings in GSK were worth $36,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in GSK during the third quarter valued at about $3,645,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of GSK by 73.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 711 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in GSK by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 12,422 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 3,346 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in GSK in the third quarter worth $210,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in GSK during the third quarter valued at about $421,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Stock Performance

Shares of GSK opened at $34.58 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $71.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.56. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.22. GSK plc has a 12 month low of $31.72 and a 12 month high of $45.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts anticipate that GSK plc will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.3932 dividend. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.55%. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GSK. StockNews.com raised GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of GSK in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.