Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Holdings Cut by Investment Partners Asset Management Inc.

Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,384 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 84 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 2.0% of Investment Partners Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,567,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $703.77 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.78 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.42, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $644.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $588.38. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $414.50 and a 12-month high of $740.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (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 period last year, the company posted $5.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase 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 0.30%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 55,589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $717.72, for a total transaction of $39,897,337.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.77, for a total transaction of $232,424.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 19,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,018,473.83. The trade was a 2.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 810,217 shares of company stock worth $523,808,864. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on META shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Tigress Financial lifted 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. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $800.00 price objective (up previously from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Hsbc Global Res raised Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $790.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $717.90.

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.