Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Position Decreased by Marks Group Wealth Management Inc

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc lowered its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,196 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 409 shares during the period. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WoodTrust Financial Corp grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 1,547 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $548,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners now owns 4,566 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,616,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $520,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Edge Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Edge Wealth Management LLC now owns 730 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 736 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday. Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $430.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $435.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $415.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $520.28.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $496.10 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $495.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $402.50. The company has a market capitalization of $1.26 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.30, a PEG ratio of 1.23 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $207.13 and a 12-month high of $531.49.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.03, for a total value of $239,134.70. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 79,944 shares in the company, valued at $39,015,070.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.03, for a total value of $239,134.70. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 79,944 shares in the company, valued at $39,015,070.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 552 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.00, for a total transaction of $256,128.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,853,952. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,368,244 shares of company stock worth $657,034,449 in the last ninety days. 14.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.