Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC

Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,150 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 89 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 1.1% of Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $19,409,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in META. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.97, for a total transaction of $21,838,890.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $676.00, for a total transaction of $279,188.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,449 shares in the company, valued at $10,443,524. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 700,241 shares of company stock worth $434,752,368. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $750.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $710.83.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $704.87 on Thursday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $621.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $571.15. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $414.50 and a 52 week high of $718.14. The stock has a market cap of $1.78 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.47, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share 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 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 25.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.36%.

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.