Empire Life Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 5,913 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $3,462,000.
Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Cordant Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.
Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.6 %
META stock opened at $683.62 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.73 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $647.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $590.57. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $414.50 and a one year high of $740.91.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $5.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.66 EPS for the current year.
Meta Platforms Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.31%. This is an increase from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.36%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
META has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $750.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, January 27th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $717.90.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Meta Platforms
Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms
In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,060 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $3,727,550.20. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 5,139 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,747.13. This trade represents a 49.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,668 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $703.21, for a total value of $13,830,734.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 810,217 shares of company stock valued at $523,808,864. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
About Meta Platforms
(
Free Report)
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.
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