Harspring Capital Management LLC Has $31.33 Million Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Harspring Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 12.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,500 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 7,500 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 8.9% of Harspring Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Harspring Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $31,325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Meta Platforms Stock Down 2.2 %

META opened at $531.48 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $624.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $609.15. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $414.50 and a 1-year high of $740.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $1.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.22, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28.

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, topping 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.78%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,060 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $3,727,550.20. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 5,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,747.13. This trade represents a 49.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.00, for a total value of $255,234.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 16,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,057,950. The trade was a 2.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 450,214 shares of company stock worth $304,162,130. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on META shares. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $765.00 to $640.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $765.00 to $685.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $770.00 price target (up previously from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on 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 assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $692.93.

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.