Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Position Lifted by CWA Asset Management Group LLC

CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,766 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,099 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.5% of CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $29,724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. JDM Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 105 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ:META traded up $8.79 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $613.42. 3,103,426 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,850,370. The firm has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $589.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $549.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $352.05 and a twelve month high of $638.40.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $652.00 to $641.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $560.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $643.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $589.89, for a total transaction of $533,850.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,172,468.33. This represents a 2.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 84 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $50,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 518,424 shares in the company, valued at $311,054,400. The trade was a 0.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 326,624 shares of company stock worth $197,875,975. 13.71% of the stock is currently 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.