MML Investors Services LLC Has $230.34 Million Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 393,398 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 23,227 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 0.8% of MML Investors Services LLC's holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $230,339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in META. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Cordant Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META stock traded up $10.04 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $530.31. The stock had a trading volume of 6,774,816 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,774,849. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.34 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $594.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $605.11. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $414.50 and a fifty-two week high of $740.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 in the prior year, the company posted $5.33 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change 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 0.40%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $645.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Tigress Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $675.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $750.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $676.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $3,466,769.02. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,422,186.45. This represents a 18.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $666.00, for a total transaction of $602,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,510,470. This trade represents a 3.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 343,068 shares of company stock valued at $237,676,335 over the last ninety days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms 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.