Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Bought by Circle Wealth Management LLC

Circle Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 17,562 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 0.2% of Circle Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Circle Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $10,283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,198,005 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $111,948,344,000 after buying an additional 1,502,553 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 49,181,127 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $28,719,970,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020,519 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,317,434 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $24,777,282,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049,121 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,317,105 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $23,606,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $19,949,512,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.18, for a total value of $296,813.44. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,622 shares in the company, valued at $2,744,547.96. The trade was a 9.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of the stock in a transaction on Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $6,300,738.51. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 51,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,154,349.31. This represents a 14.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 210,357 shares of company stock worth $148,449,468 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $597.14 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $570.96 and a 200-day moving average of $603.99. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $442.65 and a 52-week high of $740.91. The stock has a market cap of $1.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. UBS Group increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $683.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $740.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $696.45.

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.