Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 209,137 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 11,819 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 3.9% of Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $122,452,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,198,005 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $111,948,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502,553 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 49,181,127 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $28,719,970,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020,519 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,317,434 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $24,777,282,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049,121 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,317,105 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $23,606,338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $19,949,512,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research firms have weighed in on META. Barclays reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $624.00 to $676.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $696.45.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Meta Platforms
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $706.72, for a total transaction of $9,169,692.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,046 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $121,588,349.12. This trade represents a 7.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,060 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $3,727,550.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 5,139 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,785,747.13. This trade represents a 49.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 223,629 shares of company stock worth $157,894,751 in the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
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 current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. 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. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $575.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $603.99. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $442.65 and a 12-month high of $740.91.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.71 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. This is a boost from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 8.19%.
Meta Platforms Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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