Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Holdings Decreased by AdvisorShares Investments LLC

AdvisorShares Investments LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 842 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. AdvisorShares Investments LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $493,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on META. UBS Group cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $786.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $655.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $695.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $681.95.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $673.57, for a total transaction of $24,195,307.97. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.87, for a total value of $453,012.27. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 27,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,525,441.26. The trade was a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 284,384 shares of company stock worth $199,598,622. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of META stock opened at $549.74 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $583.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $604.40. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $427.11 and a 12-month high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.33 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 8.78%.

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.