Optimize Financial Inc Buys Shares of 1,945 Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Optimize Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,945 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $1,139,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.1% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 1,020,519 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $19,949,512,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $8,344,552,000 after purchasing an additional 424,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 27.0% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,901,521 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,211,967,000 after purchasing an additional 1,892,509 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

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Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded down $12.09 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $531.48. The stock had a trading volume of 14,102,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,773,940. The company has a market capitalization of $1.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $414.50 and a 1 year high of $740.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $628.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $609.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.525 dividend. This is a boost from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $610.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $675.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Tigress Financial reiterated 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $692.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $3,466,769.02. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 20,935 shares of the company's stock, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $543.39, for a total value of $500,462.19. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,340 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,943,062.60. This trade represents a 3.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 451,119 shares of company stock valued at $304,709,239. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company 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.