Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Holdings Boosted by Northeast Investment Management

Northeast Investment Management increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 104,256 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 3,582 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 2.7% of Northeast Investment Management’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Northeast Investment Management’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $61,043,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Cordant Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at about $61,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $1,901,598. The trade was a 17.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 7,296 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $553.48, for a total transaction of $4,038,190.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 38,695 shares in the company, valued at $21,416,908.60. This represents a 15.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 793,070 shares of company stock valued at $504,185,108. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $736.67 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $414.50 and a 52-week high of $740.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $638.73 and a 200-day moving average of $582.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.87 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.20. 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 (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.33 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.66 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 8.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $790.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research 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 assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $717.90.

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.