Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA

Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA cut its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,674 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 226 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 2.7% of Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,908,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of META. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 58,218 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,087,000 after acquiring an additional 808 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 140,585 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $82,314,000 after acquiring an additional 897 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,827,565 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $7,915,451,000 after buying an additional 118,298 shares during the last quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 111.4% during the third quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,679 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,686,000 after buying an additional 6,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the third quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 9,735 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,573,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on META. Bank of America lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $770.00 price target (up from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $800.00 target price (up from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $710.83.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.77, for a total transaction of $232,424.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 19,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,018,473.83. This represents a 2.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $706.72, for a total transaction of $9,169,692.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $121,588,349.12. The trade was a 7.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 701,146 shares of company stock valued at $435,387,895 in the last ninety days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $714.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $627.23 and a 200 day moving average of $573.70. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $414.50 and a 52-week high of $725.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.80 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.33 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 25.94 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.28%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.