Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stake Boosted by JB Capital LLC

JB Capital LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,965 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 289 shares during the quarter. JB Capital LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $7,006,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Cordant Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 105 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $565.30, for a total value of $511,596.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,362,687. The trade was a 2.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 7,296 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $553.48, for a total transaction of $4,038,190.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,416,908.60. This trade represents a 15.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 701,146 shares of company stock valued at $435,387,895 over the last quarter. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $714.52 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.80 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $627.23 and its 200-day moving average is $573.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $414.50 and a 52 week high of $725.01.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued 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 net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 25.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $710.83.

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.