Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading 0.9% Higher Following Dividend Announcement

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shares were up 0.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $521.63 and last traded at $517.26. Approximately 2,977,624 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 15,846,526 shares. The stock had previously closed at $512.74.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $645.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $570.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $576.66.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $505.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $494.12. The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $452,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 40,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,280,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $452,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 40,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,280,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Peggy Alford sold 1,052 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.00, for a total transaction of $503,908.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,954,472. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 390,977 shares of company stock valued at $202,384,548 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $295,901,000 after purchasing an additional 163,067 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,576,285 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,265,862,000 after acquiring an additional 51,900 shares in the last quarter. Voyager Global Management LP boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 37.3% during the 4th quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 515,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $182,289,000 after acquiring an additional 140,000 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 400.0% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 2,500 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $885,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 166,403 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $58,900,000 after purchasing an additional 7,415 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.