Global Retirement Partners LLC Boosts Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 25.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,744 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 4,038 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $7,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 625.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 68.9% during the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $30,000. PayPay Securities Corp raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 65.2% during the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 109 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META traded down $8.28 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $485.58. The stock had a trading volume of 15,212,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,086,339. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 2.67. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $202.54 and a 52-week high of $523.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $467.03 and a 200 day moving average of $376.07. The stock has a market cap of $1.24 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $40.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.12 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 29.48% and a net margin of 28.98%. The company’s revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.00 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 19.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $513.32, for a total transaction of $251,526.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 10,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,148,086.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $513.32, for a total transaction of $251,526.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,148,086.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 1,064 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.51, for a total value of $374,006.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,504,435 shares of company stock worth $703,629,367. 13.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $385.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $435.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $496.35.

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.