Metis Global Partners LLC Has $73.16 Million Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 124,949 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,953 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 2.2% of Metis Global Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Metis Global Partners LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $73,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 58,218 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $34,087,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 140,585 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $82,314,000 after buying an additional 897 shares during the period. Brueske Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $459,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,827,565 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $7,915,451,000 after buying an additional 118,298 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LS Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 111.4% during the 3rd quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,679 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $6,686,000 after acquiring an additional 6,155 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Meta Platforms Stock Down 4.3 %

Meta Platforms stock traded down $26.69 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $598.97. The stock had a trading volume of 2,877,782 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,600,970. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $656.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $600.95. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $414.50 and a 12-month high of $740.91. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.52 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23.

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 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 previous year, the firm posted $5.33 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. This is an increase 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 Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark upgraded Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $820.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Arete Research raised shares of Meta Platforms to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $705.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $719.26.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $589.16, for a total transaction of $243,323.08. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 17,514 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,318,548.24. This represents a 2.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.00, for a total value of $559,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 35,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,019,340. The trade was a 2.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 761,907 shares of company stock valued at $496,008,888. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.