Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Bought by North Peak Capital Management LLC

North Peak Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 23.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 128,087 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 24,680 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 9.9% of North Peak Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. North Peak Capital Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $74,996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Cordant Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded up $20.78 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $521.06. 12,270,100 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,784,817. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.32 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.78, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50-day moving average of $598.76 and a 200 day moving average of $605.69. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $414.50 and a fifty-two week high of $740.91. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share 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 period last year, the company posted $5.33 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.525 dividend. 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. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 8.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on META shares. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $610.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $750.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Benchmark lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $676.55.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $6,300,738.51. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 51,793 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,154,349.31. The trade was a 14.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.76, for a total value of $23,160,423.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 342,662 shares of company stock valued at $237,476,709. 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.