Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by Meyer Handelman Co.

Meyer Handelman Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 56,944 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 1.2% of Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $33,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JDM Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Halpern Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 3.8 %

Shares of META opened at $617.12 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $358.61 and a 52-week high of $638.40. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $595.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $554.81. The company has a market capitalization of $1.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.32%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.70, for a total value of $520,103.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,612,808.90. The trade was a 2.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $580.65, for a total value of $239,808.45. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,456,828. The trade was a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 495,682 shares of company stock valued at $301,101,199 in the last quarter. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $811.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $719.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $650.05.

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.