Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Zuckerman Investment Group LLC

Zuckerman Investment Group LLC lessened its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 39,308 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 125 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 2.3% of Zuckerman Investment Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $23,015,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Cordant Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 14.8 %

META stock opened at $585.77 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $634.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $609.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The firm has a market cap of $1.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $414.50 and a fifty-two week high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 last year, the business posted $5.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $750.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 27th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $770.00 target price (up from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $704.62.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.18, for a total value of $296,813.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 5,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,744,547.96. This represents a 9.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $604.54, for a total transaction of $547,108.70. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 31,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,804,216.70. This represents a 2.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 499,507 shares of company stock worth $334,165,387 in the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.