one8zero8 LLC Makes New Investment in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

one8zero8 LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,460 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $855,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of META. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Cordant Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Bear Mountain Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $70,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $595.00, for a total value of $547,995.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,649,280. This trade represents a 2.71 % 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 link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 55,589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.72, for a total transaction of $39,897,337.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 631,415 shares of company stock valued at $414,365,524 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $582.36 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.35, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $656.80 and its 200-day moving average is $604.84. 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 12 month low of $414.50 and a 12 month high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 period last year, the business posted $5.33 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 8.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, January 27th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $750.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $753.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $710.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $718.31.

About Meta Platforms

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.