Cornerstone Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Cornerstone Advisors LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 89,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 2.1% of Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $52,110,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in META. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 78,471.1% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,248,763 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,658,713,000 after acquiring an additional 6,240,810 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 61,769.3% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 4,132,870 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,365,820,000 after purchasing an additional 4,126,190 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $2,243,603,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 87,269.8% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,067,659 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $625,125,000 after buying an additional 1,066,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 4,658.5% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 909,548 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $520,662,000 after buying an additional 890,434 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.9 %

META opened at $607.60 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $414.50 and a 12 month high of $740.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $658.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $603.19. The company has a market cap of $1.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 posted $5.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on META shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Susquehanna increased 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. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $719.26.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $626.66, for a total transaction of $567,127.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 34,725 shares in the company, valued at $21,760,768.50. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $6,300,738.51. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 51,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,154,349.31. This trade represents a 14.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 690,689 shares of company stock worth $451,269,409. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.