Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by LSV Asset Management

LSV Asset Management lessened its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 435,402 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 24,958 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $254,932,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 58,218 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,087,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 140,585 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $82,314,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Brueske Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $459,000. Apollon Financial LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $866,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,675,174 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,908,382,000 after acquiring an additional 110,040 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of several research reports. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $770.00 price target (up from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Arete Research upgraded Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $688.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given 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 company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $708.55.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $585.77 on Thursday. 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 50-day simple moving average of $634.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $609.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.49, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $414.50 and a one year high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results 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 firm earned $5.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,060 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $3,727,550.20. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 5,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,785,747.13. This trade represents a 49.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The stock was 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 directly owns 5,622 shares in the company, valued at $2,744,547.96. The trade was a 9.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 499,507 shares of company stock worth $334,165,387 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.