Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Acquired by Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC

Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 13.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 975 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $571,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Halpern Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth approximately $49,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $612.77 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $596.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $556.71. The firm has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $370.95 and a 12-month high of $638.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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 0.33%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 9.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on META. Barclays upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $719.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $650.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 7,296 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $553.48, for a total value of $4,038,190.08. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,416,908.60. The trade was a 15.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.16, for a total transaction of $237,128.08. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 10,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,147,531.12. The trade was a 3.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 496,174 shares of company stock worth $301,408,499. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.