Transce3nd LLC Makes New $933,000 Investment in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 1,590 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $933,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Cordant Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $501.48 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $608.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $607.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.96, a PEG 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.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (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 previous year, the firm earned $5.33 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on META. 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. Wedbush decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $680.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Arete Research upgraded shares of Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $786.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $750.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $684.10.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $531.22, for a total transaction of $489,253.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 28,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,096,741.18. This trade represents a 3.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,060 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $3,727,550.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 5,139 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,747.13. The trade was a 49.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 379,901 shares of company stock valued at $260,806,516 in the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.