Collar Capital Management LLC Invests $3.49 Million in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Collar Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 5,957 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $3,488,000. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 2.9% of Collar Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 12,445 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $7,287,000 after buying an additional 1,042 shares during the last quarter. Concentric Capital Strategies LP increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. Concentric Capital Strategies LP now owns 26,258 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $15,374,000 after acquiring an additional 5,094 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,692,000. Crestline Management LP lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 48.3% during the fourth quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 33,610 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $19,679,000 after purchasing an additional 10,943 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 288,202 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $168,745,000 after purchasing an additional 6,259 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $587.31 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $572.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $604.03. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $442.65 and a 12 month high of $740.91. 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 capitalization of $1.49 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.55, 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 quarterly 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. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.71 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 8.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,668 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $721.69, for a total transaction of $14,194,198.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,060 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $3,727,550.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 5,139 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,747.13. This trade represents a 49.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 209,749 shares of company stock valued at $148,089,532 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on META shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $752.00 to $664.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $695.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Benchmark reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $696.45.

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.

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