Katamaran Capital LLP Acquires New Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Katamaran Capital LLP bought a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 12,481 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,308,000. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 9.3% of Katamaran Capital LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. JDM Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.66, for a total value of $525,577.86. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,268,742.26. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $563.03, for a total value of $342,322.24. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 6,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,507,676.90. This trade represents a 8.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 549,113 shares of company stock worth $364,668,246. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $504.73 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $414.50 and a 12 month high of $740.91. The company has a market capitalization of $1.28 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.10, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $648.15 and its 200 day moving average is $609.75.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.33 EPS. Research 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 is a positive change 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 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on META. Pivotal Research boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $790.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $725.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Benchmark raised Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $820.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $718.55.

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.