Connors Investor Services Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,802 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 674 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.7% of Connors Investor Services Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Connors Investor Services Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $18,035,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Valley Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Seelaus Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Meredith Wealth Planning grew its position in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,873 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,097,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC now owns 481 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Riverwater Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.
Meta Platforms Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:META traded up $24.81 on Friday, hitting $597.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 24,702,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,463,489. The company has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $442.65 and a 12 month high of $740.91. The stock's 50-day moving average is $575.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $603.62.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 EPS. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.
Meta Platforms Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. This is an increase 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 8.19%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
META has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Wedbush lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Argus set a $775.00 target price on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $696.45.
Get Our Latest Report on META
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Meta Platforms news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $677.71, for a total value of $13,554,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 308,686 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $209,199,589.06. This represents a 6.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $545.17, for a total transaction of $502,101.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,577 shares in the company, valued at $14,488,983.09. This represents a 3.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 237,017 shares of company stock worth $167,207,524 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.
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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