Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Tufton Capital Management

Tufton Capital Management cut its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,225 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 235 shares during the period. Tufton Capital Management’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $788,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 68.9% in the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 65.2% in 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 during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $470.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $420.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $590.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $519.53.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ META traded up $14.10 on Thursday, reaching $508.27. 6,935,444 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,938,342. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $207.13 and a fifty-two week high of $531.49. The company has a 50 day moving average of $493.65 and a 200 day moving average of $396.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.30 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $40.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.12 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 28.98% and a return on equity of 29.48%. The company’s revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.00 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $517.75, for a total transaction of $253,697.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,924,027.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total value of $305,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 38,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,043,756. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $517.75, for a total value of $253,697.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,924,027.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,440,278 shares of company stock valued at $684,796,490. 13.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.