Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Position Decreased by Diversify Advisory Services LLC

Diversify Advisory Services LLC lowered its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 81,027 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 3,093 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 2.8% of Diversify Advisory Services LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Diversify Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $49,902,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 90.5% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,040 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $15,421,000 after buying an additional 11,893 shares during the period. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC now owns 4,266 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,498,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Smart Money Group LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $998,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 628.0% during the fourth quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 11,859 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,944,000 after purchasing an additional 10,230 shares during the period. Finally, RoundAngle Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $1,255,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on META. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $750.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Two investment 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $651.27.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $616.46 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $598.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $558.31. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $381.16 and a 12-month high of $638.40.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The company 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.96 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.32%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.16, for a total value of $2,918,698.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 8,565 shares in the company, valued at $4,943,375.40. This represents a 37.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total transaction of $407,167.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,414 shares in the company, valued at $1,901,598. This trade represents a 17.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 531,190 shares of company stock worth $322,938,501. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.