X Square Capital LLC Decreases Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

X Square Capital LLC lowered its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,490 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 20 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 2.5% of X Square Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. X Square Capital LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in META. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $19,835,000. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $9,691,000 after acquiring an additional 1,790 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $19,949,512,000. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $19,085,000. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 377,272 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $220,897,000 after purchasing an additional 20,594 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.4 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $602.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The company’s 50-day moving average is $655.95 and its 200-day moving average is $607.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $414.50 and a fifty-two week high of $740.91.

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

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,060 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $3,727,550.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 5,139 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,747.13. The trade was a 49.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $589.16, for a total value of $243,323.08. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 17,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,318,548.24. This trade represents a 2.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 584,823 shares of company stock valued at $386,274,777 in the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wolfe Research raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $583.00 to $627.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $718.31.

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.