Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co Has $14.86 Million Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lessened its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,379 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 677 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 0.9% of Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $14,860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. JDM Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Cordant Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth approximately $61,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $688.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Arete Research raised shares of Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Pivotal Research increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $719.26.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $668.20 on Monday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $414.50 and a 12-month high of $740.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $653.18 and its 200-day moving average is $597.08. The company has a market capitalization of $1.69 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 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 released 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 return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.33 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.97, for a total value of $21,838,890.37. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $595.00, for a total transaction of $538,475.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,738,325. This represents a 2.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 813,538 shares of company stock valued at $526,326,729. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.