By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Vicus Capital reduced its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 10.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,396 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 279 shares during the quarter. Vicus Capital’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of META. White Pine Capital LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 2,420 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 33.7% in the fourth quarter. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. now owns 615 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 35.8% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 9,813 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,746,000 after acquiring an additional 2,585 shares during the period. CFC Planning Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $549,000. Finally, First Merchants Corp increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 16,825 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $9,851,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $6,300,738.51. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 51,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,154,349.31. This represents a 14.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.77, for a total transaction of $232,424.01. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 19,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,018,473.83. The trade was a 2.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 810,217 shares of company stock worth $523,808,864 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.
Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.3 %
Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $694.84 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $645.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $589.12. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.76 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $414.50 and a 12-month high of $740.91.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the business posted $5.33 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.30%. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.36%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $770.00 target price (up from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $717.90.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on META
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.
Further Reading
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