Fmr LLC Lowers Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

FMR LLC lessened its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 136,254,148 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 2,014,584 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 4.8% of FMR LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. FMR LLC owned 5.38% of Meta Platforms worth $79,778,166,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,340 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $4,298,000 after purchasing an additional 973 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Wealth Management increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Westwood Wealth Management now owns 31,740 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $18,584,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. Ashburton Jersey Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,511,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 134.1% in the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 25,189 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $14,748,000 after acquiring an additional 14,427 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 491,785 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $287,945,000 after acquiring an additional 62,473 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

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Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of META stock traded down $5.80 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $510.45. 27,776,366 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,526,506. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $414.50 and a 52 week high of $740.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50 day moving average of $645.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $610.47. The company has a market capitalization of $1.29 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.34, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28.

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 business posted $5.33 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost 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 payout ratio is 8.78%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $604.54, for a total value of $547,108.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 31,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,804,216.70. This trade represents a 2.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $563.03, for a total transaction of $342,322.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 6,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,507,676.90. This trade represents a 8.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 534,820 shares of company stock worth $355,819,896 in the last three months. Insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on META shares. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $675.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $713.07.

Meta Platforms Profile

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.