Erste Asset Management GmbH Sells 1,817 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Erste Asset Management GmbH decreased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 341,856 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,817 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 2.4% of Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $196,880,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of META. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Cordant Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at $70,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $607.60 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.40, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $658.01 and its 200 day moving average is $603.80. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $414.50 and a 12 month high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 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 company posted $5.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $736.00 to $786.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $770.00 price target (up from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $719.26.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 22,035 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.63, for a total value of $13,631,512.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $595.00, for a total transaction of $547,995.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,024 shares in the company, valued at $19,649,280. The trade was a 2.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 654,355 shares of company stock worth $428,564,164 in the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms 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.