Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Position Raised by Western Wealth Management LLC

Western Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,750 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 756 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,929,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $4,223,148,000. Morgan Stanley bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $4,072,543,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,796,633,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,731,491,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 130,809,908 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $39,270,443,000 after acquiring an additional 5,001,647 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $388.90, for a total transaction of $3,500,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 79,935 shares in the company, valued at $31,086,721.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $388.90, for a total transaction of $3,500,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 79,935 shares in the company, valued at $31,086,721.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $385.00, for a total transaction of $217,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,286 shares in the company, valued at $13,585,110. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,421,182 shares of company stock valued at $677,574,550. 13.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $430.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $415.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $380.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $420.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $519.53.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.4 %

Meta Platforms stock traded down $12.00 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $489.80. 4,923,158 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,882,270. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $494.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $397.43. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $207.13 and a 52 week high of $531.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.25 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 28.98% and a return on equity of 29.48%. The firm had revenue of $40.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 13.42%.

Meta Platforms Company 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.