Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Position Boosted by Congress Asset Management Co.

Congress Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 346,292 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,530 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.4% of Congress Asset Management Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Congress Asset Management Co.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $202,757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of META. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 58,218 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $34,087,000 after acquiring an additional 808 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 140,585 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $82,314,000 after acquiring an additional 897 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,827,565 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $7,915,451,000 after acquiring an additional 118,298 shares during the period. LS Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 111.4% in the third quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,679 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $6,686,000 after buying an additional 6,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $866,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded down $11.22 on Friday, reaching $683.62. 15,609,265 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,022,064. The company has a 50 day moving average of $647.09 and a 200 day moving average of $590.57. 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.73 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.58, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $5.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.31%. This is an increase from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $811.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $719.26.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $565.30, for a total transaction of $511,596.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 37,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,362,687. This trade represents a 2.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.77, for a total transaction of $232,424.01. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 19,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,018,473.83. This trade represents a 2.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 810,217 shares of company stock valued at $523,808,864 in the last three months. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

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.