Allstate Corp Acquires 62,940 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Allstate Corp increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3,242.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,881 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 62,940 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.1% of Allstate Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Allstate Corp’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $37,988,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $576.74 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $414.50 and a 1 year high of $740.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $655.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $608.48. The company has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.33 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $614.97, for a total transaction of $373,901.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 6,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,205,164.86. The trade was a 8.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.76, for a total transaction of $535,542.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,915 shares in the company, valued at $19,477,780.40. This represents a 2.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 584,823 shares of company stock valued at $386,274,777 in the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Pivotal Research raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Arete Research raised Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $583.00 to $627.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark raised shares of Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $820.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $750.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $718.31.

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.