Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stake Reduced by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC cut its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,493,619 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 50,612 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.4% of Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 0.06% of Meta Platforms worth $894,305,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JDM Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Cordant Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth about $61,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $715.91 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $414.50 and a 1 year high of $740.91. The business’s fifty day moving average is $643.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $587.57. 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 (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 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 company earned $5.33 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast 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 paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 8.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $565.30, for a total transaction of $511,596.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,790 shares in the company, valued at $21,362,687. The trade was a 2.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 19,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,018,473.83. This represents a 2.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 770,701 shares of company stock valued at $495,357,621 in the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $688.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $811.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.