Most corporations pay quarterly dividends on their common stock rather than annual dividends. Barring any unusual circumstances during the year, the board raises, lowers, or maintains the current dividend once a year and then pays this dividend out in equal quarterly installments to its shareholders.
Required:
(a)Suppose a company currently pays a $2.40 annual dividend on its common stock in a single annual installment, and management plans on raising this dividend by 6.50 percent per year indefinitely. If the required return on this stock is 8 percent, what is the current share price? (Do not include the dollar sign ($). Round your answer to 2 decimal places (e.g., 32.16).)
Current share price $ 170.4
(b)Now suppose the company in (a) actually pays its annual dividend in equal quarterly installments; thus, the company has just paid a $0.60 dividend per share, as it has for the previous three quarters. What is your value for the current share price now? (Hint: Find the equivalent annual end-of-year dividend for each year.) (Do not include the dollar sign ($). Round your answer to 2 decimal places (e.g., 32.16).)
Current share price $