Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by Wahed Invest LLC

Wahed Invest LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 55,113 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,185 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 5.4% of Wahed Invest LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Wahed Invest LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $32,269,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $683.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Arete Research upgraded shares of Meta Platforms to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $696.45.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 4.3 %

Shares of META stock traded up $24.81 on Friday, reaching $597.02. The company had a trading volume of 24,702,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,455,871. The stock has a market cap of $1.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.96, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50-day moving average of $575.29 and a 200-day moving average of $603.80. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $442.65 and a 12 month high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.71 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors 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 0.35%. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $676.00, for a total transaction of $279,188.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,443,524. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 237,017 shares of company stock valued at $167,207,524. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.