Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Raises Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 101,635 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 0.8% of Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $59,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Cordant Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth about $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $706.72, for a total value of $9,169,692.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $121,588,349.12. This trade represents a 7.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total value of $407,167.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,901,598. This represents a 17.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 701,146 shares of company stock worth $435,387,895 in the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $714.52 on Monday. 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 1-year low of $414.50 and a 1-year high of $725.01. The company has a market cap of $1.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50 day moving average of $627.23 and a 200-day moving average of $575.09.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid 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 8.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on META. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $583.00 to $627.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark upgraded Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $820.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $770.00 price objective (up from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average 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.