Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 3,429 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 25.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,718 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,429 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 0.7% of Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $9,846,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $583.93 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $1.48 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $414.50 and a 52 week high of $740.91. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $653.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $610.50.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 period last year, the company earned $5.33 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $800.00 price target (up previously from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Tigress Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $718.55.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 902 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $713.32, for a total transaction of $643,414.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 27,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,607,740.16. The trade was a 3.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $563.03, for a total transaction of $342,322.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 6,230 shares in the company, valued at $3,507,676.90. This represents a 8.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 584,113 shares of company stock valued at $385,838,234. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.