Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stake Reduced by Hartford Investment Management Co.

Hartford Investment Management Co. reduced its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 134,709 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 2,784 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 2.6% of Hartford Investment Management Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $78,873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 32.5% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 457,092 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $261,680,000 after acquiring an additional 112,047 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $946,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Schubert & Co boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Schubert & Co now owns 580 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at $214,000. Finally, Legacy Financial Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.7% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,895 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 375 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 Platforms stock opened at $736.67 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $414.50 and a twelve month high of $740.91. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $641.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $585.97. The firm has a market cap of $1.87 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $5.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.29%. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark raised Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $820.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $753.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $750.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $717.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 902 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $713.32, for a total transaction of $643,414.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 27,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,607,740.16. This represents a 3.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.77, for a total value of $232,424.01. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 19,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,018,473.83. The trade was a 2.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 751,033 shares of company stock valued at $480,911,671 over the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.