GAM Holding AG raised its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,035 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,875 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 3.0% of GAM Holding AG's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. GAM Holding AG's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $39,835,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 46,132 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $27,011,000 after buying an additional 2,288 shares during the period. Northstar Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $269,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 75,732 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $44,342,000 after buying an additional 4,260 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 432,122 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $253,012,000 after purchasing an additional 10,741 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 901,242 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $527,686,000 after buying an additional 35,188 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.
Meta Platforms Stock Performance
Shares of META stock traded up $13.21 on Wednesday, hitting $670.71. 9,932,976 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,715,486. 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 1-year low of $414.50 and a 1-year high of $740.91. The company's fifty day moving average is $648.73 and its 200 day moving average is $594.06. The company has a market capitalization of $1.70 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.09, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.20.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted 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 last year, the firm posted $5.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.31%. This is a boost 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 8.78%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price 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. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $719.26.
View Our Latest Report on META
Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms
In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 3,523 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.10, for a total transaction of $2,469,975.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $3,466,769.02. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 812,422 shares of company stock valued at $525,534,818 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.
Meta Platforms Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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