Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stake Decreased by Investment House LLC

Investment House LLC lowered its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 179,318 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 6,144 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 5.7% of Investment House LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Investment House LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $104,992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in META. JDM Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth about $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 bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Cordant Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $70,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $750.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $718.31.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.00, for a total value of $243,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 17,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,576,930. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.25, for a total value of $552,830.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,269,825.75. This trade represents a 2.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 622,844 shares of company stock valued at $409,212,161 over the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $596.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $655.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $605.08. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $414.50 and a 1 year high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.33 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 8.78%.

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.