Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Acquired by Monument Capital Management

Monument Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 167.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,088 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 1,307 shares during the period. Monument Capital Management’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,223,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Cordant Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at $61,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.77, for a total value of $232,424.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 19,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,018,473.83. This trade represents a 2.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,668 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $703.21, for a total transaction of $13,830,734.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 810,217 shares of company stock worth $523,808,864. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.6 %

META stock opened at $683.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $414.50 and a 52-week high of $740.91. The company has a 50-day moving average of $647.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $591.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.73 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $705.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $770.00 target price (up from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $719.26.

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.