Sit Investment Associates Inc. Boosts Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Sit Investment Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,956 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,643 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 0.9% of Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $38,032,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Seelaus Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $960,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,873 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,097,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Maiden Cove Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC now owns 481 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Riverwater Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 572 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 317 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $611.10, for a total transaction of $21,951,323.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $612.10, for a total transaction of $252,797.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 17,101 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,467,522.10. The trade was a 2.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 549,113 shares of company stock valued at $364,668,246. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 5.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $504.73 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $414.50 and a 1-year high of $740.91. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.28 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $648.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $609.75.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 posted $5.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $725.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer raised 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. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $800.00 price target (up from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $790.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $718.55.

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.