Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Lewis Asset Management LLC

Lewis Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 10.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,830 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,105 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 4.4% of Lewis Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Lewis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lindenwold Advisors INC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 5,918 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,388,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $625,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 2,680 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,569,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,841 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,199,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,595,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.97, for a total transaction of $21,838,890.37. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.16, for a total value of $2,918,698.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 8,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,943,375.40. This represents a 37.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 673,878 shares of company stock valued at $416,269,904. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $736.00 to $786.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $710.83.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $697.46 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $414.50 and a one year high of $710.79. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $616.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $568.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.76 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.16, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 25.94 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 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.