Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,777 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 658 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 1.4% of Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $22,119,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Cordant Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Bear Mountain Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $70,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.
Meta Platforms Stock Performance
Shares of META stock traded down $15.33 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $610.98. The stock had a trading volume of 12,592,026 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,819,908. The firm has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $414.50 and a one year high of $740.91. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $656.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $608.00.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.33 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.
Meta Platforms Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 8.78%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $688.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Arete Research raised shares of Meta Platforms to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $718.31.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on META
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,422,186.45. This trade represents a 18.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,311 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.21, for a total transaction of $1,387,085.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 585,605 shares of company stock worth $386,710,448 over the last quarter. 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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