Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC Purchases New Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC purchased 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 purchased 4,041 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $2,366,000. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.1% of Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $19,949,512,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 78,471.1% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,248,763 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,658,713,000 after purchasing an additional 6,240,810 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,243,603,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,445,565 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $13,727,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,787,832 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,162,918,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:META traded down $2.82 on Friday, hitting $642.23. 16,230,863 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,491,179. The company has a market cap of $1.61 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. 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 50-day moving average price of $578.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $610.83. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $442.65 and a 1 year high of $740.91.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on META. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Benchmark lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Moffett Nathanson increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $624.00 to $676.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research 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 assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $701.05.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total value of $4,532,440.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 70,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,181,574.40. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $673.96, for a total value of $409,767.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 8,662 shares in the company, valued at $5,837,841.52. This represents a 6.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,664 shares of company stock worth $35,484,670 in the last ninety days. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company 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.