Main Street Research LLC Has $32.02 Million Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Main Street Research LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 28.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 90,452 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 20,280 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.6% of Main Street Research LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Main Street Research LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $32,016,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. WoodTrust Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 1,547 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $548,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners now owns 4,566 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,616,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $520,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Edge Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Edge Wealth Management LLC now owns 730 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 736 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $435.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $420.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $370.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $509.28.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $364.99, for a total value of $7,183,368.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total transaction of $305,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,043,756. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $364.99, for a total transaction of $7,183,368.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,459,469 shares of company stock valued at $691,726,161. Company insiders own 14.03% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of META stock traded down $0.47 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $499.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,829,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,148,627. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $492.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $394.61. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $207.13 and a 12-month high of $531.49. The company has a quick ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 28.98% and a return on equity of 29.48%. The business had revenue of $40.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.00 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.42%.

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.