Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by Ellsworth Advisors LLC

Ellsworth Advisors LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 628.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,859 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,230 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.8% of Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,944,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JDM Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Halpern Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $616.46 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The business’s 50 day moving average is $598.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $558.31. The company has a market cap of $1.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $381.16 and a 12 month high of $638.40.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. On average, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.96 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.42%.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.16, for a total value of $5,166,159.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,776,261.56. The trade was a 14.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.97, for a total value of $21,838,890.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 531,190 shares of company stock worth $322,938,501. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on META shares. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $705.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $811.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $651.27.

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.