BIT Capital GmbH Boosts Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

BIT Capital GmbH grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 44.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 77,553 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,818 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 3.6% of BIT Capital GmbH’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. BIT Capital GmbH’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $45,408,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. 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 position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $602.58 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $655.95 and its 200 day moving average is $607.98. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $414.50 and a 12-month high of $740.91. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $1.53 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 period last year, the business earned $5.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 8.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on META. Tigress Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark raised Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $820.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $800.00 price target (up from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $718.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value 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 $38,154,349.31. This represents a 14.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $589.16, for a total transaction of $243,323.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 17,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,318,548.24. This represents a 2.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 584,823 shares of company stock valued at $386,274,777. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Company 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.