WealthPLAN Partners LLC Sells 1,057 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

WealthPLAN Partners LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 12.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,276 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,057 shares during the quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. JDM Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Cordant Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth approximately $61,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $694.84 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $645.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $589.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.76 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $414.50 and a 12 month high of $740.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business earned $5.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.66 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.30%. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction 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 owns 19,579 shares in the company, valued at $11,018,473.83. This trade represents a 2.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,668 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $703.21, for a total transaction of $13,830,734.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 810,217 shares of company stock valued at $523,808,864. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Benchmark raised Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $820.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.