Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Holdings Decreased by Applied Finance Capital Management LLC

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 10.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 99,352 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 11,995 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 2.5% of Applied Finance Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $58,171,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in META. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $606.77, for a total transaction of $250,596.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 16,688 shares in the company, valued at $10,125,777.76. The trade was a 2.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,060 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $3,727,550.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 5,139 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,785,747.13. This trade represents a 49.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 487,453 shares of company stock valued at $326,680,904. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.5 %

META stock traded down $2.72 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $543.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 17,619,060 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,764,979. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $414.50 and a 1 year high of $740.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.72, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $628.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $609.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 business earned $5.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Benchmark upgraded Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $820.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $645.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $701.38.

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.