By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Byrne Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,054 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 69 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 2.1% of Byrne Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Byrne Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,959,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. JDM Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Cordant Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $61,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.4 %
Shares of META stock opened at $728.56 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $414.50 and a fifty-two week high of $729.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $636.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $580.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.85 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.46, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.20.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 last year, the firm posted $5.33 EPS. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.29%. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.36%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities analysts recently weighed in on META shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Pivotal Research increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $717.90.
Get Our Latest Research Report on Meta Platforms
Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms
In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,668 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $721.69, for a total transaction of $14,194,198.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 14,746 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $553.53, for a total value of $8,162,353.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 793,070 shares of company stock worth $504,185,108 in the last quarter. 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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