Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Position Trimmed by Magellan Asset Management Ltd

Magellan Asset Management Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 15.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 625,106 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 112,332 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 4.0% of Magellan Asset Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Magellan Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $366,006,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of META. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $19,949,512,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 78,471.1% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,248,763 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,658,713,000 after buying an additional 6,240,810 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,243,603,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 27.0% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,901,521 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,211,967,000 after acquiring an additional 1,892,509 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,198,005 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $111,948,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,502,553 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

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Meta Platforms Trading Down 5.1 %

Meta Platforms stock traded down $26.89 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $504.73. The stock had a trading volume of 38,506,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,475,998. The stock has a market cap of $1.28 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.10, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $651.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $609.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $414.50 and a 52 week high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.33 EPS. Analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. This is a boost from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 8.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $800.00 price objective (up from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $725.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Pivotal Research upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $718.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.66, for a total value of $525,577.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 30,261 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,268,742.26. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $611.10, for a total value of $21,951,323.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 549,113 shares of company stock valued at $364,668,246. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Company 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.