Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Nebula Research & Development LLC

Nebula Research & Development LLC lessened its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 54.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,752 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 2,134 shares during the quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,026,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $19,949,512,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 78,471.1% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,248,763 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,658,713,000 after purchasing an additional 6,240,810 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,243,603,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 27.0% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,901,521 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,211,967,000 after buying an additional 1,892,509 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,198,005 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $111,948,344,000 after buying an additional 1,502,553 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 4.9 %

Meta Platforms stock traded up $26.83 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $575.83. The company had a trading volume of 21,901,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,414,404. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $427.11 and a 1 year high of $740.91. The business has a fifty day moving average of $578.42 and a 200 day moving average of $603.67. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.11, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.71 EPS. The company's revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side 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 announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. This is a boost from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 8.78%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $696.39, for a total value of $9,035,660.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $146,918,094.69. The trade was a 5.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $6,300,738.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,793 shares in the company, valued at $38,154,349.31. This trade represents a 14.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 249,071 shares of company stock valued at $175,741,082 in the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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 research report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $752.00 to $664.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $690.02.

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.