Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Buys 133 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,964 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,150,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. JDM Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Cordant Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $61,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.97, for a total value of $21,838,890.37. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $565.30, for a total transaction of $511,596.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,362,687. The trade was a 2.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 770,701 shares of company stock valued at $495,357,621 in the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Arete Research upgraded Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Pivotal Research upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $717.90.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $715.91 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50-day moving average is $643.13 and its 200-day moving average is $587.57. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $414.50 and a 1 year high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 previous year, the firm posted $5.33 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

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

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.