Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 22.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 704 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 48,160,608 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $27,470,870,000 after purchasing an additional 698,884 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 14,440,868 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $8,266,531,000 after buying an additional 263,063 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,827,565 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $7,915,451,000 after acquiring an additional 118,298 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,447,975,000 after acquiring an additional 9,500,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,946,755 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,101,602,000 after acquiring an additional 186,728 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several analysts recently issued reports on META shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $719.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $730.00 to $720.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $654.20.
Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.7 %
Meta Platforms stock opened at $647.49 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $601.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $560.51. The firm has a market cap of $1.63 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $385.66 and a twelve month high of $652.00. 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 (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last announced 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. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.31%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.42%.
Insider Activity at Meta Platforms
In other news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total transaction of $407,167.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,901,598. This trade represents a 17.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.17, for a total transaction of $252,071.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 518,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $310,890,460.68. This represents a 0.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 568,016 shares of company stock valued at $346,031,180. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.
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