Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Acquired by Councilmark Asset Management LLC

Councilmark Asset Management LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,025 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.2% of Councilmark Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Councilmark Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,771,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of META. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 48,160,608 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $27,470,870,000 after buying an additional 698,884 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 14,440,868 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $8,266,531,000 after purchasing an additional 263,063 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,251,766 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $8,344,552,000 after buying an additional 424,201 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,946,755 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,101,602,000 after purchasing an additional 186,728 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,675,174 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,908,382,000 after purchasing an additional 110,040 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $604.46, for a total transaction of $21,712,807.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.00, for a total value of $243,670.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 17,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,576,930. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 622,844 shares of company stock worth $409,212,161 in the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $811.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, January 27th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $800.00 price target (up from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $718.31.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $596.25 on Friday. 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 $1.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $655.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $605.08. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $414.50 and a 52 week high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the business posted $5.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

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.