Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stake Boosted by Stonekeep Investments LLC

Stonekeep Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,548 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 0.7% of Stonekeep Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Stonekeep Investments LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $906,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of META. JDM Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.70, for a total transaction of $520,103.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,612,808.90. This trade represents a 2.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 1,131 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.16, for a total value of $652,767.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,229 shares in the company, valued at $709,329.64. The trade was a 47.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 496,174 shares of company stock valued at $301,408,499. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $612.77 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $370.95 and a twelve month high of $638.40. The company’s fifty day moving average is $596.78 and its 200-day moving average is $557.04. The stock has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.33%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on META. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $650.05.

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.