MJP Associates Inc. ADV Sells 360 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

MJP Associates Inc. ADV reduced its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,007 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 360 shares during the period. MJP Associates Inc. ADV’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,064,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of META. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $66,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 12.5% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,244,201 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $499,020,000 after purchasing an additional 249,926 shares during the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 284.0% in the 1st quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $746,000 after buying an additional 2,482 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth about $813,000. Finally, Oxford Financial Group Ltd. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 26.9% during the first quarter. Oxford Financial Group Ltd. now owns 1,888 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $420,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $380.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $414.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $397.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $496.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.55, for a total transaction of $198,977.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,984 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,001,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.55, for a total value of $198,977.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,984 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,001,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 1,064 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.51, for a total transaction of $374,006.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,504,435 shares of company stock worth $703,629,367. 13.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.6 %

META traded down $7.96 on Thursday, reaching $485.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 14,953,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,826,258. The company has a market capitalization of $1.24 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $202.54 and a fifty-two week high of $523.57. The company has a quick ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $464.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $375.30.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 28.98% and a return on equity of 29.48%. The company had revenue of $40.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.12 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.00 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 19.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

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.