Dudley Capital Management LLC Increases Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Dudley Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,211 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the quarter. Dudley Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,880,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,311 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.21, for a total value of $1,387,085.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.25, for a total transaction of $552,830.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 32,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,269,825.75. The trade was a 2.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 585,605 shares of company stock valued at $386,710,448. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $750.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $710.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $718.31.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.2 %

META stock opened at $626.31 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.59 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $656.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $608.00. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $414.50 and a fifty-two week high of $740.91. 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 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 period last year, the company earned $5.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 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. 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

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.