Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $158.41 Million Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 15.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 270,552 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 35,660 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $158,409,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Valley Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Valley Financial Group Inc. now owns 588 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $344,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $960,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,873 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,097,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC now owns 481 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverwater Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 572 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of META stock opened at $592.49 on Monday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $568.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $604.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $442.65 and a 1-year high of $740.91. The company has a market cap of $1.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.71 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. This is a boost from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Argus set a $775.00 price objective on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. DA Davidson cut their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $628.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $696.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,668 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $721.69, for a total value of $14,194,198.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 902 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $713.32, for a total transaction of $643,414.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,607,740.16. This represents a 3.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 119,894 shares of company stock valued at $83,475,065 in the last 90 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.

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