Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Dnca Finance

Dnca Finance decreased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 81,248 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 8,060 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 3.7% of Dnca Finance's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Dnca Finance's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $47,572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,198,005 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $111,948,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,502,553 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 49,181,127 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $28,719,970,000 after buying an additional 1,020,519 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $19,949,512,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,251,766 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $8,344,552,000 after acquiring an additional 424,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,901,521 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,211,967,000 after buying an additional 1,892,509 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 4.6 %

NASDAQ META traded up $23.09 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $523.37. The stock had a trading volume of 11,834,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,782,796. The company has a market capitalization of $1.33 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $414.50 and a 12 month high of $740.91. The company's 50-day moving average price is $598.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $605.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. This is an increase from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.78%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $6,300,738.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,154,349.31. This trade represents a 14.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $627.59, for a total value of $259,194.67. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,862 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,954,832.58. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 342,662 shares of company stock worth $237,476,709 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $628.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Benchmark decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $610.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $676.55.

Meta Platforms Company 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.