Gotham Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 89,546 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 4,296 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 0.5% of Gotham Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $52,430,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in META. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,020 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $2,939,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 13,810 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $8,086,000 after purchasing an additional 3,019 shares during the period. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 84.4% in the 4th quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 18,489 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $11,424,000 after purchasing an additional 8,464 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,080 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $632,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,725 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $4,523,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.
Meta Platforms Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ META traded down $5.52 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $592.49. 10,401,916 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,465,666. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $442.65 and a 1-year high of $740.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.77, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The company's 50-day moving average price is $568.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $604.75.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion during 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 firm's revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.71 EPS. On average, sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.19%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several brokerages recently commented on META. Guggenheim raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated an "underperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $696.45.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on META
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,795 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $715.82, for a total value of $25,622,776.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 902 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $713.32, for a total value of $643,414.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 27,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,607,740.16. The trade was a 3.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 155,689 shares of company stock worth $109,097,842 over the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
About Meta Platforms
(
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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