Dark Forest Capital Management LP Has $784,000 Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP lowered its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 71.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,339 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 3,390 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $784,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 58,218 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $34,087,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 140,585 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $82,314,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Brueske Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $459,000. Apollon Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $866,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,675,174 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,908,382,000 after buying an additional 110,040 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ META traded up $2.26 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $552.00. 4,558,426 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,339,588. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.40 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $427.11 and a 1 year high of $740.91. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $583.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $604.40.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $786.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Argus set a $775.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $615.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $681.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of the firm'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 $3,466,769.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 20,935 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,422,186.45. This trade represents a 18.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $702.24, for a total transaction of $635,527.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 28,390 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,936,593.60. This trade represents a 3.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 284,384 shares of company stock worth $199,598,622 in the last ninety days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.