Streetbeat News

Dividends

META

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) plans to increase employee bonuses by 1.5 times following a record-breaking fourth quarter in revenue, profits, and user base growth. Despite a 22% reduction in headcount and strict performance reviews, the bonuses will be based on individual performance rankings and paid out in March. Meta's stock reached an all-time high post-results, significantly boosting CEO Mark Zuckerberg's wealth, who is set to receive a $700 million annual payout from Meta's new dividend.

Portfolio Pulse from Ananya Gairola

February 03, 2024 | 4:45 am

META

NVDA

Meta Platforms Inc. (META) reported a 25% year-on-year increase in fourth-quarter revenue to $40.11 billion and announced its first-ever quarterly dividend. The company's focus on AI and efficiency, including a 22% reduction in headcount and an 8% decrease in total expenses, has impressed analysts. Wedbush's Dan Ives and Deepwater Asset Management's Gene Munster both expressed bullish views on Meta's future, particularly in AI. Meta's stock rose 20% post-earnings, with a 37% gain since the start of 2024. Analysts have upgraded Meta's price targets to $500-$525. Meta also announced the second generation of its AI chip, aiming to reduce reliance on Nvidia Corp. (NVDA).

Portfolio Pulse from Rounak Jain

February 03, 2024 | 2:50 am

USLM

United States Lime & Minerals (USLM) has announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.20 to $0.25, signaling a positive outlook on its financial health and commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

February 02, 2024 | 9:29 pm

META

Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) shares reached all-time highs after surpassing Q4 financial expectations, leading to a significant wealth increase for CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The company announced its first quarterly dividend and an increased share buyback, potentially making Zuckerberg the fourth richest person globally. Meta's performance marks a turnaround from a challenging 2022, with shares up over 200% in the last year.

Portfolio Pulse from Chris Katje

February 02, 2024 | 9:17 pm

AAPL

AMD

AMZN

GOOGL

META

TSLA

Tech giants experienced mixed earnings, with Alphabet, AMD, and Apple slightly missing expectations, while Meta and Amazon exceeded them. The Fed's Jerome Powell ruled out a March interest rate cut, and the U.S. saw a strong January jobs report. Meta announced its first dividend, Amazon reported significant Q4 revenue growth, and Apple faced challenges in China. Tesla recalled the Cybertruck due to a software issue.

Portfolio Pulse from Piero Cingari

February 02, 2024 | 9:07 pm

SHEL

Piper Sandler analyst Ryan M. Todd reaffirmed an Overweight rating on Shell PLC (NYSE:SHEL) with a price target of $75, despite Q4 revenue missing consensus. The quarter saw strong upstream performance offset by downstream and renewables weakness. Shell reported a Q4 revenue of $78.73 billion, missing the $84.71 billion consensus, but adjusted earnings per ADS were $2.22, above the $0.97 consensus. The company also announced a 4% annual dividend increase and a $3.5 billion buyback program.

Portfolio Pulse from Nabaparna Bhattacharya

February 02, 2024 | 6:58 pm

PVSP

Pervasip Corp. (OTCPK: PVSP) is restructuring its cannabis operations, converting $15M in debt into equity in a new subsidiary, aiming for profitability and an OTCQB listing. The move focuses on high-margin branded product sales and reduces debt-to-equity ratios, signaling a strategic shift towards financial health and long-term growth.

Portfolio Pulse from Jelena Martinovic

February 02, 2024 | 6:38 pm

META

SNAP

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) reported Q4 earnings surpassing expectations with revenue and EPS ahead of estimates, announcing its first quarterly dividend. Analysts from Goldman Sachs, Guggenheim, Roth MKM, Wedbush, Truist Securities, and Oppenheimer raised their price targets, citing efficiency, advertising strength, and potential for long-term growth. The positive outlook for Meta also led to an upgrade for Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP) by Guggenheim, highlighting Meta's advertising pricing power as a positive indicator for Snap.

Portfolio Pulse from Chris Katje

February 02, 2024 | 6:26 pm

PIPR

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) shares rose after reporting Q4 sales of $471.85 million, surpassing Wall Street's estimate of $370.12 million, and an adjusted EPS of $4.03, beating the $2.60 forecast. Advisory services and adjusted operating income saw significant increases, while corporate financing revenues declined. The company also announced a special cash dividend of $1.00 per share and a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share.

Portfolio Pulse from Nabaparna Bhattacharya

February 02, 2024 | 5:39 pm

AMZN

META

QQQ

SPY

USO

The latest jobs report, showing stronger-than-expected employment growth, has dampened hopes for a Fed rate cut, potentially upsetting stock market bulls. However, blowout earnings from Amazon (AMZN) and Meta Platforms (META), including META's initiation of a dividend and a $50B buyback, have bolstered their market cap by $275B, overshadowing concerns from the jobs report. Early trade money flows are positive for AMZN, META, Microsoft (MSFT), and NVIDIA (NVDA), neutral for Alphabet (GOOG), and negative for Apple (AAPL) and Tesla (TSLA). The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) saw extremely positive early money flows turn negative post-jobs report. Oil is down on ceasefire deal prospects in the Middle East, impacting the United States Oil ETF (USO). Bitcoin (BTC) rises with tech stock sentiment.

Portfolio Pulse from The Arora Report

February 02, 2024 | 5:32 pm