James Investment Research Inc. Decreases Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

James Investment Research Inc. decreased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,786 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 216 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.3% of James Investment Research Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. James Investment Research Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $10,999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of META. JDM Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Cordant Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at $61,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on META. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $750.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Arete Research upgraded Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two research 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $719.26.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 902 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $713.32, for a total value of $643,414.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,607,740.16. This trade represents a 3.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.77, for a total value of $232,424.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 19,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,018,473.83. This trade represents a 2.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 810,217 shares of company stock worth $523,808,864 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.6 %

NASDAQ:META opened at $683.62 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $647.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $591.24. 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 12 month low of $414.50 and a 12 month high of $740.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.73 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced 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 return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.33 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

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

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.