Today’s incredible move in Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) has taken the market by storm, with most major indices up alongside shares of the company. At the time of this writing, META stock is up more than 20%, buoyed by incredibly strong earnings and an announcement that the company will pay out its first-ever dividend to investors.
This dividend, which will amount of 50 cents per share quarterly (or $2 per share annually) is certainly notable for two reasons. The first reason is the signal that this move sends to the market — that Meta is generating so much cash it needs to find better ways to get it into shareholder pockets. Secondly, though, long-term shareholders will continue to be rewarded by holding META stock for years or decades. The potential for plenty of dividend growth on the horizon also makes shares a juicy option for income investors who may have previously avoided META due to the fact it didn’t pay a dividend.
Many headlines are now circulating about the ultimate impact of this dividend on CEO Mark Zuckerberg as well. Already one of the richest men in the world, the new dividend should net the Meta Platforms CEO around $700 million per year. That’s also ignoring the boost Zuckerberg just got to his net worth today, with his 350 million shares now worth over $165 billion.
Let’s dive into what other major shareholders are set to benefit most from today’s dividend announcement and surge in META stock.
Top 5 Institutional Holders of META Stock
Here are the top five institutional shareholders of Meta Platforms, according to Yahoo Finance:
- Vanguard Group kicks off this list of shareholders, holding 183.24 million shares worth $87.36 billion.
- Blackrock (NYSE:BLK) is in second place with 155.96 million shares worth $74.36 billion.
- FMR is Meta Platforms’ third-largest institutional shareholder, owning 130.80 million shares valued at $62.36 billion.
- State Street (NYSE:STT) comes next with 86.05 million shares worth around $41.02 billion.
- Finally, T. Rowe Price (NASDAQ:TROW) rounds out the list with 48.57 million shares valued at $23.16 billion.
On the date of publication, Chris MacDonald did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
