Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by Hartline Investment Corp

Hartline Investment Corp increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 15.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,580 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the quarter. Hartline Investment Corp’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 68.9% during the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. PayPay Securities Corp grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 65.2% during the 3rd quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 109 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 80.4% during the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total transaction of $305,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 38,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,043,756. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $394.76, for a total transaction of $7,769,271.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total value of $305,370.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,043,756. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,368,244 shares of company stock worth $657,034,449 in the last 90 days. 14.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $397.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $375.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $520.28.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META traded down $2.60 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $493.50. 34,966,586 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,341,254. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.26 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $207.13 and a 12 month high of $531.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $495.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $402.50.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $40.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.12 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 29.48% and a net margin of 28.98%. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.00 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.42%.

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.