Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) To Go Ex-Dividend on September 21st

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a dividend of 0.525 per share by the social networking company on Monday, September 28th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st.

Meta Platforms has a payout ratio of 7.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Meta Platforms to earn $34.19 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.10 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 6.1%.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $648.03 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $601.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $608.94. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $1.65 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $790.80.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The company had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $7.14 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 28.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total value of $2,002,514.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,875,854.26. This represents a 34.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $650.28, for a total value of $13,005,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 244,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $159,003,864.48. The trade was a 7.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 61,581 shares of company stock valued at $37,512,295. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of META. RHL Group LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc develops technologies that help people connect, communicate and build communities online. The company’s principal products include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and digital communication.

Meta generates most of its business through advertising displayed across its family of apps. It also develops artificial intelligence technologies, business messaging tools and hardware and software through its Reality Labs division, including Quest virtual- and mixed-reality devices and related experiences.

The company was founded as Facebook in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and was renamed Meta Platforms in 2021 to reflect its broader focus on building the metaverse.