Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stake Decreased by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lowered its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,517,721 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 70,996 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.1% of Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned about 0.06% of Meta Platforms worth $888,641,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.4 %

NASDAQ:META opened at $610.98 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s 50 day moving average is $656.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $608.02. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $414.50 and a 52 week high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) 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 previous year, the firm earned $5.33 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 8.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on META shares. Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $800.00 target price (up previously from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $736.00 to $786.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” 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 assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $718.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $589.16, for a total value of $243,323.08. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 17,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,318,548.24. This trade represents a 2.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.25, for a total transaction of $552,830.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,269,825.75. This trade represents a 2.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 586,213 shares of company stock valued at $387,084,349 over the last quarter. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.