Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Has $109.12 Million Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 129.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 186,369 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 105,231 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 2.2% of Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $109,121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. 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 position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Cordant Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,060 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $3,727,550.20. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 5,139 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,747.13. This represents a 49.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $6,300,738.51. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 51,793 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,154,349.31. This trade represents a 14.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 343,068 shares of company stock worth $237,676,335. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $610.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $628.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $705.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $765.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Two research 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 MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $676.55.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META traded up $11.70 during trading on Thursday, hitting $531.97. The stock had a trading volume of 7,277,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,543,729. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $414.50 and a one year 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. The firm has a market cap of $1.35 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $594.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $605.11.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $5.33 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.525 dividend. 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. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

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.