Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Holdings Increased by Cottage Street Advisors LLC

Cottage Street Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,190 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Cottage Street Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Tyler Stone Wealth Management increased its position in Meta Platforms by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 4,816 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,820,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund now owns 222,968 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $130,550,000 after buying an additional 7,800 shares in the last quarter. Aviso Wealth Management increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 14,177 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $8,301,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 1,664 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $974,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $703,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of META opened at $602.58 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $655.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $607.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $414.50 and a 12-month high of $740.91. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

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

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $688.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Argus set a $775.00 price objective on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $753.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $718.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.76, for a total value of $535,542.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,915 shares in the company, valued at $19,477,780.40. This trade represents a 2.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $589.16, for a total transaction of $243,323.08. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 17,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,318,548.24. This represents a 2.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 584,823 shares of company stock worth $386,274,777. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.