Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Holdings Reduced by Optas LLC

Optas LLC cut its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,533 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 71 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.2% of Optas LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Optas LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. JDM Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Cordant Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 2,000.0% during the third quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 105 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $770.00 target price (up previously from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $710.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $706.72, for a total value of $9,169,692.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,046 shares in the company, valued at $121,588,349.12. This represents a 7.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $702.24, for a total transaction of $635,527.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 28,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,936,593.60. This represents a 3.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 701,146 shares of company stock worth $435,387,895. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $714.52 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.80 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.87, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $627.23 and its 200-day moving average is $573.70. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $414.50 and a 1 year high of $725.01.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced 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 period last year, the business posted $5.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 25.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.28%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.36%.

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.