Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 550,091 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,738 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 2.9% of Xponance Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $322,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. OPTIMAS CAPITAL Ltd purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,810,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,158,000. Evoke Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 217.7% in the 4th quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 49,769 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $29,140,000 after buying an additional 34,106 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 116.8% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 28,912 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $16,928,000 after buying an additional 15,574 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carlson Capital Management raised its position in Meta Platforms by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Carlson Capital Management now owns 1,896 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,110,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of several recent research reports. Arete Research raised shares of Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $811.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $718.31.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $596.25 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $655.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $605.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current 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 $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (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 business earned $5.33 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.78%.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.00, for a total transaction of $243,670.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 17,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,576,930. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.25, for a total value of $552,830.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,103 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,269,825.75. This trade represents a 2.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 622,844 shares of company stock valued at $409,212,161. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.