Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Buys 14,427 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 134.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 25,189 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,427 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 5.6% of Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $14,748,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JDM Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $504.73 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $648.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $610.27. The company has a market cap of $1.28 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $414.50 and a one year high of $740.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $5.33 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $563.03, for a total value of $342,322.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 6,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,507,676.90. This represents a 8.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $631.55, for a total transaction of $571,552.75. Following the sale, the insider now owns 32,010 shares in the company, valued at $20,215,915.50. This represents a 2.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 549,113 shares of company stock worth $364,668,246. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on META shares. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $811.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, January 27th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $750.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $718.55.

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.