Academy Capital Management Decreases Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Academy Capital Management lessened its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 98,931 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 748 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 9.5% of Academy Capital Management's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Academy Capital Management's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $57,925,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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% in the 4th quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $960,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,873 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,097,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 317 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. VeraBank N.A. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,954 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LGL Partners LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. LGL Partners LLC now owns 2,834 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,659,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.56, for a total transaction of $260,008.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 18,340 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,546,130.40. The trade was a 2.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $626.66, for a total transaction of $567,127.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,725 shares in the company, valued at $21,760,768.50. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 690,689 shares of company stock worth $451,269,409 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 3.0 %

NASDAQ META traded up $17.48 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $607.60. 12,327,951 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,665,213. 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 business's 50-day moving average is $657.96 and its 200-day moving average is $602.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $414.50 and a twelve month high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on META. Benchmark raised shares of Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $820.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Pivotal Research raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Two 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $719.26.

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.