Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Position Increased by Noked Israel Ltd

Noked Israel Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 31.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 71,200 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,950 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 8.2% of Noked Israel Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Noked Israel Ltd’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $41,688,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Cordant Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.6%

NASDAQ:META opened at $656.03 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.66 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $442.65 and a one year high of $740.91. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $569.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $605.57.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.71 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.32%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Benchmark reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $696.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $3,466,769.02. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at $15,422,186.45. This represents a 18.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.07, for a total value of $677,920.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 35,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,341,737.09. The trade was a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 99,324 shares of company stock worth $68,637,452 in the last ninety days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.