Allstate Corp Increases Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Allstate Corp grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3,242.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,881 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 62,940 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.1% of Allstate Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Allstate Corp's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $37,988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 17.9% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $946,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,368,361 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,928,185,000 after buying an additional 204,412 shares during the last quarter. United Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 5,569 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,188,000 after buying an additional 1,011 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at $625,000. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 20,773 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $11,891,000 after buying an additional 5,786 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

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Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded down $1.29 during trading on Monday, reaching $575.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,540,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,241,163. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $655.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $609.90. 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 12 month low of $414.50 and a 12 month high of $740.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 period last year, the business posted $5.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. This is an increase from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $736.00 to $786.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $725.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $811.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $718.55.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $627.05, for a total value of $577,513.05. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 31,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,552,673.10. This represents a 2.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $3,466,769.02. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at $15,422,186.45. The trade was a 18.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 584,410 shares of company stock valued at $386,031,454. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.