Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by Townsquare Capital LLC

Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 19.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 148,597 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 23,713 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.0% of Townsquare Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $87,006,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Cordant Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $790.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Tigress Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $811.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Arete Research upgraded Meta Platforms to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $583.00 to $627.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $692.93.

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Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.2 %

NASDAQ META traded down $12.09 on Monday, reaching $531.48. 14,102,971 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,773,940. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $414.50 and a fifty-two week high of $740.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.35 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The business's fifty day moving average price is $628.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share 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 last year, the business posted $5.33 EPS. Analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.00, for a total transaction of $255,234.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 16,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,057,950. The trade was a 2.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 55,589 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.72, for a total value of $39,897,337.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 451,119 shares of company stock valued at $304,709,239. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.