By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 16.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,352 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 7,080 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 0.7% of Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $30,067,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quantum Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Quantum Private Wealth LLC now owns 45,262 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,501,000 after buying an additional 1,064 shares in the last quarter. Little House Capital LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 16,291 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $9,539,000 after buying an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Centerpoint Advisory Group acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $543,000. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 76.8% in the 4th quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,345 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,373,000 after buying an additional 1,019 shares in the last quarter. Finally, bLong Financial LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $2,994,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.6 %
Shares of META stock opened at $683.62 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.73 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.58, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $647.09 and a 200-day moving average of $591.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $414.50 and a 1-year high of $740.91.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last released its 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 in the previous year, the company earned $5.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.
Meta Platforms Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.31%. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.36%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.77, for a total value of $232,424.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 19,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,018,473.83. This trade represents a 2.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,668 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $703.21, for a total value of $13,830,734.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 810,217 shares of company stock valued at $523,808,864 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Argus set a $775.00 target price on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Pivotal Research increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $719.26.
View Our Latest Report on META
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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