GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Raises Dividend to $0.39 Per Share

GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 30th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.3928 per share by the pharmaceutical company on Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38.

GSK has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 18.2% annually over the last three years. GSK has a dividend payout ratio of 35.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect GSK to earn $4.37 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 35.7%.

GSK Price Performance

Shares of GSK stock opened at $35.11 on Thursday. GSK has a one year low of $34.29 and a one year high of $45.92. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $39.46 and its 200 day moving average is $40.80. The stock has a market cap of $72.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GSK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $39.50 in a report on Tuesday. Guggenheim lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays upgraded GSK to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Argus upgraded GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.25.

Insider Transactions at GSK

In other news, major shareholder Plc Gsk bought 2,791,930 shares of GSK stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.00 per share, with a total value of $22,335,440.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 16,775,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $134,205,528. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 10.00% of the company’s stock.

GSK Company 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.