Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Position Lessened by Sfmg LLC

Sfmg LLC lowered its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,861 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 159 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 0.5% of Sfmg LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Sfmg LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,359,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 48,160,608 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $27,470,870,000 after buying an additional 698,884 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,251,766 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $8,344,552,000 after acquiring an additional 424,201 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 2.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,946,755 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,101,602,000 after acquiring an additional 186,728 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,675,174 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,908,382,000 after acquiring an additional 110,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,268,104 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,670,038,000 after purchasing an additional 26,396 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.7 %

META opened at $596.25 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.51 trillion, a P/E 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 quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $655.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $606.39. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $414.50 and a twelve month high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.33 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.525 dividend. 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 0.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.78%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.50, for a total transaction of $369,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,523,445. The trade was a 7.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $602.47, for a total transaction of $545,235.35. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,820 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,375,535.40. The trade was a 2.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 622,431 shares of company stock worth $408,968,491. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $710.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $688.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.