Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Position Decreased by Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC

Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC lessened its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 498,701 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 8,643 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 3.1% of Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $291,994,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 58,218 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $34,087,000 after buying an additional 808 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 140,585 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $82,314,000 after buying an additional 897 shares during the last quarter. Brueske Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $459,000. Apollon Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $866,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 255.9% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,709,694 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,001,044,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229,350 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of META stock traded up $14.12 on Friday, hitting $547.27. The stock had a trading volume of 17,064,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,374,342. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $427.11 and a one year high of $740.91. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $587.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $604.68. The company has a market cap of $1.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. 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 (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm earned $5.33 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business 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 is a boost from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 8.78%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $666.00, for a total value of $602,730.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,510,470. The trade was a 3.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 406 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.69, for a total value of $199,626.14. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 4,608 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,265,707.52. This represents a 8.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 308,068 shares of company stock valued at $214,968,924 over the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wedbush dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $680.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $750.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, January 27th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $765.00 to $685.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $679.02.

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.