WealthTrust Asset Management LLC Trims Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

WealthTrust Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,984 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 185 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 2.1% of WealthTrust Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. WealthTrust Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,918,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 78,471.1% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,248,763 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,658,713,000 after buying an additional 6,240,810 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 61,769.3% during the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 4,132,870 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,365,820,000 after acquiring an additional 4,126,190 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,243,603,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 87,269.8% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,067,659 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $625,125,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4,658.5% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 909,548 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $520,662,000 after purchasing an additional 890,434 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $595.00, for a total value of $547,995.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,649,280. The trade was a 2.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.50, for a total transaction of $369,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,523,445. This represents a 7.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 632,023 shares of company stock worth $414,734,884 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of META opened at $584.06 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $656.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $604.69. 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 $1.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.42, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business posted $5.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Wolfe Research increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $688.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Arete Research raised shares of Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $718.31.

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.