Selway Asset Management Has $3.34 Million Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Selway Asset Management decreased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,700 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.3% of Selway Asset Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Selway Asset Management’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of META. Spahn Wealth & Retirement LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,746,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 25.8% during the 4th quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,718 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $9,846,000 after buying an additional 3,429 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 91,725 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $53,706,000 after buying an additional 11,683 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 72,792 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $42,620,000 after acquiring an additional 7,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 65,693 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $38,464,000 after acquiring an additional 5,460 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $603.98, for a total transaction of $21,695,565.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $612.10, for a total value of $252,797.30. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 17,101 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,467,522.10. This trade represents a 2.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 584,113 shares of company stock valued at $385,838,234. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $790.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $800.00 target price (up from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $710.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $718.55.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $583.93 on Thursday. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $653.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $610.50. The company has a market cap of $1.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $414.50 and a twelve month high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $5.33 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.78%.

About Meta Platforms

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.