Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Position Increased by Roman Butler Fullerton & Co.

Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,076 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.2% of Roman Butler Fullerton & Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,143,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of META. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 48,160,608 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $27,470,870,000 after purchasing an additional 698,884 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 14,440,868 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $8,266,531,000 after purchasing an additional 263,063 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,827,565 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $7,915,451,000 after purchasing an additional 118,298 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,447,975,000 after acquiring an additional 9,500,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,946,755 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,101,602,000 after acquiring an additional 186,728 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ META opened at $694.84 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $414.50 and a 1-year high of $740.91. The company has a 50 day moving average of $645.83 and a 200-day moving average of $589.12. The company has a market cap of $1.76 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.05, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 8.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,668 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $703.21, for a total value of $13,830,734.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $6,300,738.51. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,793 shares in the company, valued at $38,154,349.31. This trade represents a 14.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 810,217 shares of company stock valued at $523,808,864. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on META. Bank of America increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Hsbc Global Res raised Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wolfe Research increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $688.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $800.00 price target (up previously from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.