Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Meeder Asset Management Inc.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. cut its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,693 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,845 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 3.3% of Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $47,832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Seelaus Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $960,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,873 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,097,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Maiden Cove Capital LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC now owns 481 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 317 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, VeraBank N.A. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,954 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 4.3 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $576.74 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $655.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $609.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $414.50 and a 1-year high of $740.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.11, 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm earned $5.33 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $614.97, for a total transaction of $373,901.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 6,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,205,164.86. This trade represents a 8.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.76, for a total value of $535,542.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,477,780.40. The trade was a 2.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 584,410 shares of company stock worth $386,031,454. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $750.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $736.00 to $786.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.