Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Gap Up Following Dividend Announcement

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The stock had previously closed at $639.60, but opened at $676.00. Meta Platforms shares last traded at $666.5490, with a volume of 15,058,223 shares traded.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 9.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $950.00 to $910.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $905.00 to $875.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $800.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Arete Research set a $718.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $819.43.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 4.3%

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $676.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $706.12. The company has a market capitalization of $1.68 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 1.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The business had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 726 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.60, for a total value of $429,501.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 6,035 shares in the company, valued at $3,570,306. This represents a 10.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total value of $365,610.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,476,894.45. This represents a 7.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 41,440 shares of company stock worth $26,337,795. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Infusive Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Infusive Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,620 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $13,614,000 after buying an additional 2,285 shares during the last quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 2.7% during the second quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 4,080 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,011,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 55,431 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $43,790,000 after purchasing an additional 5,224 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 210,526 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $155,387,000 after purchasing an additional 20,912 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR grew its position in Meta Platforms by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 84,687 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $62,507,000 after purchasing an additional 4,473 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.