Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Holdings Raised by Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 62.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 672,367 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 259,152 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.4% of Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $393,678,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of META. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Cordant Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $592.00, for a total transaction of $359,936.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 3,190 shares in the company, valued at $1,888,480. This trade represents a 16.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $592.52, for a total transaction of $545,710.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 25,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,201,693.12. The trade was a 3.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 155,689 shares of company stock worth $109,097,842. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $592.49 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $568.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $604.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $442.65 and a 52 week high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.71 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.525 dividend. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on META shares. Barclays lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wedbush lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $696.45.

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.