Absoluto Partners Gestao de Recursos Ltda Decreases Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Absoluto Partners Gestao de Recursos Ltda trimmed its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 14.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,577 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 612 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.9% of Absoluto Partners Gestao de Recursos Ltda's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Absoluto Partners Gestao de Recursos Ltda's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,094,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $118,000. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $1,171,000. Alaethes Wealth LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC now owns 7,906 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $4,629,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. 1248 Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $2,211,000. Finally, 3G Capital Partners LP increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. 3G Capital Partners LP now owns 77,500 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $45,377,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.4 %

Meta Platforms stock traded up $2.25 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $599.27. 13,858,431 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,453,595. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $575.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $603.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $442.65 and a 12-month high of $740.91. The firm has a market cap of $1.52 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.71 EPS. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.19%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 55,589 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.72, for a total value of $39,897,337.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,060 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $3,727,550.20. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 5,139 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,785,747.13. The trade was a 49.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 223,629 shares of company stock valued at $157,894,751. Insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on META. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Moffett Nathanson upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Loop Capital cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $695.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $696.45.

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.