Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Unisphere Establishment

Unisphere Establishment reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 45.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,750 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 16,500 shares during the quarter. Unisphere Establishment's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $11,564,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of META. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 58,218 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $34,087,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 140,585 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $82,314,000 after buying an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Brueske Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $459,000. Apollon Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $866,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 255.9% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,709,694 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,001,044,000 after acquiring an additional 1,229,350 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 4.3 %

META stock traded up $24.81 during trading on Friday, hitting $597.02. 24,702,127 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,463,475. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.96, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $442.65 and a 1 year high of $740.91. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $576.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $603.54.

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

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This is a boost from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on META shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Pivotal Research reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $830.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $688.63.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $706.72, for a total value of $9,169,692.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,046 shares in the company, valued at $121,588,349.12. This trade represents a 7.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $6,300,738.51. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,154,349.31. The trade was a 14.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 237,017 shares of company stock valued at $167,207,524 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

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.