Clarendon Private LLC Makes New $3.59 Million Investment in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Clarendon Private LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 6,130 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $3,589,000. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 3.8% of Clarendon Private LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth $1,559,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 208.3% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 259 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. SPC Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.3% during the second quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 1,077 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $543,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 127.4% during the 2nd quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 5,547 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,797,000 after acquiring an additional 3,108 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $529,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on META shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Meta Platforms to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $698.98.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.9 %

META traded up $12.93 during trading on Thursday, hitting $689.42. The company had a trading volume of 20,861,034 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,245,674. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $608.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $563.58. The company has a market capitalization of $1.74 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.44, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $387.10 and a one year high of $710.79.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its 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 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 9.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $567.70, for a total value of $511,497.70. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,360,833.70. This represents a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 7,296 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $553.48, for a total value of $4,038,190.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 38,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,416,908.60. This trade represents a 15.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 661,312 shares of company stock worth $407,377,422. 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.