By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Cryder Capital Partners LLP decreased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 37.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 284,916 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 173,459 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 12.1% of Cryder Capital Partners LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Cryder Capital Partners LLP’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $166,821,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of META. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 58,218 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,087,000 after buying an additional 808 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 140,585 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $82,314,000 after buying an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,827,565 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $7,915,451,000 after buying an additional 118,298 shares in the last quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 111.4% during the third quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,679 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,686,000 after buying an additional 6,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Financial LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $866,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.
Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.1 %
Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $736.67 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $414.50 and a 12-month high of $740.91. The stock has a market cap of $1.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business’s 50 day moving average is $638.73 and its 200-day moving average is $583.52.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm posted $5.33 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 8.36%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $717.90.
View Our Latest Report on META
Insider Activity at Meta Platforms
In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,644 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $553.55, for a total transaction of $10,320,386.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,769 shares in the company, valued at $25,888,979.95. This trade represents a 28.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 7,296 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $553.48, for a total value of $4,038,190.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 38,695 shares in the company, valued at $21,416,908.60. The trade was a 15.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 793,070 shares of company stock worth $504,185,108. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.
Meta Platforms 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.
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