Western Pacific Wealth Management LP Raises Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Western Pacific Wealth Management LP raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,402 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.6% of Western Pacific Wealth Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,163,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. JDM Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.0 %

META opened at $711.99 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.80 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $624.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $572.13. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $414.50 and a 12 month high of $718.90.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the company earned $5.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 25.94 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Benchmark raised Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $820.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $770.00 price objective (up from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $710.83.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $706.72, for a total transaction of $9,169,692.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,046 shares in the company, valued at $121,588,349.12. The trade was a 7.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.16, for a total value of $2,918,698.12. Following 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. Insiders have sold a total of 701,146 shares of company stock worth $435,387,895 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.