Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Sells 293 Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 293 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in GSK were worth $630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of GSK during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of GSK during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of GSK during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. PrairieView Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of GSK during the second quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of GSK during the second quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 15.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

GSK Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE GSK opened at $42.55 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.18 billion, a PE ratio of 15.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.66. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.70. GSK plc has a 12-month low of $33.67 and a 12-month high of $45.92.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.49 billion. GSK had a return on equity of 51.48% and a net margin of 12.87%. As a group, analysts expect that GSK plc will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a dividend of $0.3843 per share. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on GSK in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on GSK from $52.50 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Berenberg Bank raised GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. UBS Group cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup raised GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $50.00.

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.