Barrier Capital Management LLC Acquires 1,724 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Barrier Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,108 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,724 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 9.0% of Barrier Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Barrier Capital Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $11,188,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,948 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $7,581,000 after buying an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 49,297 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $28,864,000 after acquiring an additional 4,600 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 77,127 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $45,327,000 after purchasing an additional 11,546 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 13,207 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $7,733,000 after buying an additional 1,180 shares during the period. Finally, Alteri Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,395,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded down $11.96 on Tuesday, reaching $587.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,422,848 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,435,615. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $573.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $604.15. The company has a market capitalization of $1.49 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.55, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $442.65 and a 52-week high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.71 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders 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 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 8.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $706.72, for a total transaction of $9,169,692.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $121,588,349.12. The trade was a 7.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 902 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $713.32, for a total transaction of $643,414.64. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,488 shares in the company, 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 222,724 shares of company stock worth $157,259,224 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $740.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 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 given a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $696.45.

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.