35,000 Shares in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Acquired by TRB Advisors LP

TRB Advisors LP purchased a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 35,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,493,000. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 3.4% of TRB Advisors LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. JDM Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $619.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $655.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $607.11. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $414.50 and a 1 year high of $740.91. The stock has a market cap of $1.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company posted $5.33 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 8.78%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 902 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $713.32, for a total value of $643,414.64. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,607,740.16. This trade represents a 3.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $589.16, for a total value of $243,323.08. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 17,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,318,548.24. This trade represents a 2.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 585,605 shares of company stock valued at $386,710,448 in the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $710.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $790.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently 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.