Carret Asset Management LLC Grows Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Carret Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,432 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.5% of Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $13,720,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 78,471.1% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,248,763 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,658,713,000 after acquiring an additional 6,240,810 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 61,769.3% in the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 4,132,870 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,365,820,000 after acquiring an additional 4,126,190 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,243,603,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 87,269.8% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,067,659 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $625,125,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4,658.5% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 909,548 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $520,662,000 after acquiring an additional 890,434 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 3.7 %

Shares of META stock opened at $582.36 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The company has a market cap of $1.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.35, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $656.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $604.84. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $414.50 and a 1-year high of $740.91.

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, topping 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 business posted $5.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on META shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Argus set a $775.00 price target on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $718.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 10,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $601.54, for a total value of $6,075,554.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,060 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $3,727,550.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 5,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,747.13. The trade was a 49.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 631,415 shares of company stock worth $414,365,524. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.