Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 134.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,189 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 14,427 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 5.6% of Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $14,748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $19,949,512,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 78,471.1% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,243,603,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,892,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,198,005 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $111,948,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502,553 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META traded down $5.80 on Tuesday, reaching $510.45. The stock had a trading volume of 27,776,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,526,506. The business's 50-day moving average price is $645.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $610.47. The stock has a market cap of $1.29 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $414.50 and a 12-month high of $740.91. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (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 in the prior year, the company posted $5.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $604.54, for a total value of $547,108.70. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 31,105 shares in the company, valued at $18,804,216.70. The trade was a 2.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 55,589 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.72, for a total value of $39,897,337.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 534,820 shares of company stock valued at $355,819,896. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on META shares. 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. Needham & Company LLC reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $800.00 target price (up from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their price target 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. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $713.07.

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.