Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stake Lowered by Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,060 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,134,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Intellus Advisors LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,831,000. Forefront Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,580,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,614,962 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $945,581,000 after buying an additional 39,479 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,268,104 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,670,038,000 after buying an additional 26,396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $600,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $750.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $770.00 price target (up from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $718.31.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $596.25 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $655.38 and its 200-day moving average is $606.39. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $414.50 and a 52-week high of $740.91. 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 (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $5.33 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $589.16, for a total value of $243,323.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 17,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,318,548.24. This trade represents a 2.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.25, for a total transaction of $552,830.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,269,825.75. The trade was a 2.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 622,431 shares of company stock worth $408,968,491. 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.