Aquatic Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 73,915 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $43,278,000. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.2% of Aquatic Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $19,949,512,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 78,471.1% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,248,763 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,658,713,000 after acquiring an additional 6,240,810 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $2,243,603,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Meta Platforms by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,901,521 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,211,967,000 after purchasing an additional 1,892,509 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,198,005 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $111,948,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502,553 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock traded up $14.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $547.27. 17,064,639 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,374,342. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $427.11 and a 1 year high of $740.91. The company has a market cap of $1.39 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The company's 50 day moving average is $587.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $604.68.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.33 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 0.38%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on META. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $645.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $811.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $705.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $655.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Benchmark dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $679.02.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Saturday, February 15th. The shares were 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 directly owns 51,793 shares in the company, valued at $38,154,349.31. The trade was a 14.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $673.57, for a total transaction of $24,195,307.97. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 308,068 shares of company stock worth $214,968,924. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

About Meta Platforms

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.