149,694 Shares in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Acquired by Avanza Fonder AB

Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 149,694 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,647,000. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 2.6% of Avanza Fonder AB’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth $49,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $574.16, for a total transaction of $237,128.08. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 10,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,147,531.12. This trade represents a 3.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 31,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,804,216.70. The trade was a 2.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 496,174 shares of company stock valued at $301,408,499 over the last three months. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $612.77 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $370.95 and a 1-year high of $638.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $596.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $556.71.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on META shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $605.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $636.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $670.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $650.05.

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.