GSK plc (GSK) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.39 on April 10th

GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 5th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of 0.3932 per share by the pharmaceutical company on Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39.

GSK has decreased its dividend by an average of 17.3% annually over the last three years. GSK has a payout ratio of 34.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect GSK to earn $4.65 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.4%.

GSK Stock Up 1.2 %

GSK stock opened at $36.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $75.84 billion, a PE ratio of 23.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.64. 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 moving average of $34.45 and a 200 day moving average of $37.39. GSK has a one year low of $31.72 and a one year high of $45.92.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 48.59%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that GSK will post 4.12 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GSK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on GSK in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. StockNews.com raised GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Guggenheim cut shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.