Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Acquired by Fayez Sarofim & Co

Fayez Sarofim & Co lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 15.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 893,682 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 119,136 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.3% of Fayez Sarofim & Co's portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Fayez Sarofim & Co's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $523,260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.9% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $946,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 6.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,368,361 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,928,185,000 after acquiring an additional 204,412 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 3,219 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,842,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 2,853 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,633,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 17,048 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $9,704,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $765.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $676.55.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 4.1 %

Meta Platforms stock traded up $20.51 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $520.79. 18,129,972 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,806,017. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The company has a market cap of $1.32 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $594.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $605.11. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $414.50 and a 12 month high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.33 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 8.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $644.76, for a total value of $23,160,423.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,793 shares in the company, valued at $38,154,349.31. This trade represents a 14.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 343,068 shares of company stock valued at $237,676,335. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.