Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Acquired by Hoey Investments Inc.

Hoey Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 119,431 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 11,578 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 11.8% of Hoey Investments Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Hoey Investments Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $69,928,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JDM Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $3,466,769.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,422,186.45. This trade represents a 18.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $627.05, for a total value of $577,513.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 31,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,552,673.10. This represents a 2.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 583,505 shares of company stock valued at $385,495,911 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

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Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ META traded down $2.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $583.93. 12,678,234 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,274,380. The company has a market cap of $1.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. 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 company's 50-day simple moving average is $653.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $610.68.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 last year, the firm earned $5.33 EPS. As a group, equities research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark upgraded Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $820.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $736.00 to $786.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $725.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Two 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $718.55.

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.