By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,446 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 645 shares during the quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Seelaus Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,873 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 317 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. VeraBank N.A. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,954 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LGL Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. LGL Partners LLC now owns 2,834 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,659,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.
Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.4 %
NASDAQ:META opened at $625.66 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.59 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $656.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $600.49. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $414.50 and a 12-month high of $740.91. 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 (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) 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 last year, the firm earned $5.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.78%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms
In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.00, for a total transaction of $559,290.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 35,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,019,340. The trade was a 2.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $6,300,738.51. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 51,793 shares in the company, valued at $38,154,349.31. This trade represents a 14.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 775,295 shares of company stock worth $504,237,715 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of brokerages have commented on META. Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $688.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $770.00 target price (up previously from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $719.26.
Get Our Latest Research Report on Meta Platforms
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.
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