Ionic Capital Management LLC cut its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 33.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,200 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 600 shares during the period. Ionic Capital Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $703,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Cordant Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.4%
Shares of META traded up $15.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $654.56. 5,508,961 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,463,376. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $568.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $605.22. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $442.65 and a 12-month high of $740.91. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $1.66 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.38, a P/E/G 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 the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.71 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Increases Dividend
The firm 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 represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.19%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research analysts have weighed in on META shares. Roth Capital lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Pivotal Research cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $830.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $624.00 to $676.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $696.45.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Meta Platforms
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,668 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $721.69, for a total transaction of $14,194,198.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $677.71, for a total transaction of $13,554,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 308,686 shares in the company, valued at $209,199,589.06. This represents a 6.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 118,992 shares of company stock worth $82,831,650 in the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Meta Platforms Profile
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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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