Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is Vestor Capital LLC’s 7th Largest Position

Vestor Capital LLC decreased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 23.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 73,517 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 22,495 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 3.3% of Vestor Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Vestor Capital LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $43,045,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $36,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $596.25 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. 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 1-year low of $414.50 and a 1-year high of $740.91. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $655.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $606.39.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $5.33 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.25, for a total value of $552,830.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 32,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,269,825.75. This represents a 2.79 % 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, 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 transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 5,139 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,747.13. This represents a 49.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 622,431 shares of company stock valued at $408,968,491. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $800.00 target price (up previously from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $736.00 to $786.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $718.31.

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.