Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Biltmore Family Office LLC

Biltmore Family Office LLC cut its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,025 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 24 shares during the period. Biltmore Family Office LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,771,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JDM Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on META. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $718.55.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $603.98, for a total value of $21,695,565.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $612.10, for a total transaction of $252,797.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 17,101 shares in the company, valued at $10,467,522.10. This trade represents a 2.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 584,113 shares of company stock worth $385,838,234 in the last three months. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $583.93 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $414.50 and a twelve month high of $740.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $653.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $610.50.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $5.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.525 dividend. 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. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 8.78%.

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.