Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stake Lifted by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,731,078 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 55,345 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 0.9% of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.07% of Meta Platforms worth $1,013,590,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of META. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $547.27 on Monday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $427.11 and a twelve month high of $740.91. The stock has a market cap of $1.39 trillion, a price-to-earnings 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. The company's fifty day moving average is $587.00 and its 200-day moving average is $604.68.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 in the prior year, the company earned $5.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 8.78%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 406 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.69, for a total transaction of $199,626.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 4,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,265,707.52. This trade represents a 8.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,060 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $3,727,550.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 5,139 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,747.13. This represents a 49.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 285,289 shares of company stock valued at $200,201,352 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on META shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $675.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Two investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $679.02.

About Meta Platforms

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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