Parkwood LLC Increases Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Parkwood LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,984 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 661 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.7% of Parkwood LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Parkwood LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $15,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 58,218 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,087,000 after acquiring an additional 808 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 140,585 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $82,314,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Brueske Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $459,000. Apollon Financial LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $866,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 255.9% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,709,694 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,001,044,000 after buying an additional 1,229,350 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.6%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $656.03 on Wednesday. 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 $1.66 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $569.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $605.57. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $442.65 and a 12 month high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.71 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.525 dividend. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.32%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $624.00 to $676.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $696.45.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $592.00, for a total value of $359,936.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 3,190 shares in the company, valued at $1,888,480. This trade represents a 16.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $592.52, for a total value of $545,710.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 25,656 shares in the company, valued at $15,201,693.12. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 99,324 shares of company stock valued at $68,637,452 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.