PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd Lowers Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,819 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 2,836 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 11.9% of PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $37,952,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 4.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $576.74 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $655.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $608.48. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $414.50 and a 12-month high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $5.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $6,300,738.51. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,154,349.31. The trade was a 14.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.76, for a total value of $535,542.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,477,780.40. The trade was a 2.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 584,823 shares of company stock worth $386,274,777. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $583.00 to $627.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $753.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $718.31.

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.