UP Strategic Wealth Investment Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

UP Strategic Wealth Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 64.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,579 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 621 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 0.9% of UP Strategic Wealth Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. UP Strategic Wealth Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $925,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of META. Three Seasons Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $725,000. Voya Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Voya Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 9,214 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,448,000 after buying an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Knightsbridge Asset Management LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Knightsbridge Asset Management LLC now owns 1,678 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $982,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 652,767 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $382,202,000 after buying an additional 39,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $1,505,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.87, for a total value of $453,012.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,525,441.26. This represents a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.18, for a total transaction of $296,813.44. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,744,547.96. The trade was a 9.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 308,068 shares of company stock worth $214,968,924. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.5 %

META opened at $533.15 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $590.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $604.75. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.35 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.29, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $414.50 and a 12 month 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business earned $5.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company 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 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 8.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on META shares. Arete Research upgraded Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $615.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $750.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $676.55.

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.