Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Holdings Lessened by Salem Investment Counselors Inc.

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 164,696 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 6,152 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 3.2% of Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $96,431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. JDM Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.55, for a total transaction of $571,552.75. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 32,010 shares in the company, valued at $20,215,915.50. This represents a 2.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.25, for a total transaction of $22,746,973.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 411,357 shares of company stock valued at $249,545,428 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ:META traded down $9.08 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $606.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,767,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,382,023. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. The company has a market capitalization of $1.53 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $593.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $553.55. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $358.61 and a 12 month high of $638.40.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. Equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on META shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $670.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wedbush raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $650.05.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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.