RAM Investment Partners LLC Grows Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

RAM Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,501 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 0.4% of RAM Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. RAM Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in META. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 32.5% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 457,092 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $261,680,000 after purchasing an additional 112,047 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.1% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 716,847 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $410,352,000 after acquiring an additional 14,754 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at $343,000. Marshall Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 12.6% in the third quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 5,478 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,136,000 after buying an additional 615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Secure Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.8% in the third quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 18,366 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,513,000 after buying an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $736.67 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.20. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $414.50 and a one year high of $740.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $638.73 and its 200-day moving average is $583.52.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 quarter last year, the business earned $5.33 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.66 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.36%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 7,296 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $553.48, for a total transaction of $4,038,190.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 38,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,416,908.60. This trade represents a 15.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total value of $407,167.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,901,598. This represents a 17.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 793,070 shares of company stock valued at $504,185,108 over the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $770.00 price target (up previously from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $800.00 price target (up previously from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $717.90.

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.