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 following a dividend announcement from the company. 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 issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on META shares. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $900.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $810.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $870.00 price objective (down previously from $900.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $819.43.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 4.3%

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

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.03 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total transaction of $365,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,476,894.45. This represents a 7.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,610 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total transaction of $1,590,690.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,962,956.64. The trade was a 21.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 41,440 shares of company stock worth $26,337,795 over the last 90 days. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $30,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 237.5% during the second quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.