Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Bought by Barings LLC

Barings LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,224 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Barings LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 42,809 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $25,065,000 after buying an additional 613 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 6,262,991 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,824,934,000 after acquiring an additional 795,570 shares during the last quarter. Permanent Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,055,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 18,168 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,638,000 after acquiring an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 957 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $560,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $3,466,769.02. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at $15,422,186.45. This trade represents a 18.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $595.00, for a total transaction of $547,995.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,649,280. The trade was a 2.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 690,689 shares of company stock worth $451,269,409. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $590.64 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $657.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $602.00. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $414.50 and a 52-week high of $740.91. The company has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. 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 (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) 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 last year, the firm earned $5.33 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $790.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $753.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Truist Financial raised 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $719.26.

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.