Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is L & S Advisors Inc’s 7th Largest Position

L & S Advisors Inc lessened its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 20.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,223 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 7,808 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.9% of L & S Advisors Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. L & S Advisors Inc’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $17,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of META. Okabena Investment Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 1,466 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $858,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Allianz SE acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,219,000. Tucker Asset Management LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC now owns 399 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA now owns 3,931 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,302,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valley Forge Investment Consultants Inc. ADV raised its position in Meta Platforms by 52.7% in the fourth quarter. Valley Forge Investment Consultants Inc. ADV now owns 806 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $589.16, for a total value of $243,323.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 17,514 shares in the company, valued at $10,318,548.24. This trade represents a 2.30 % 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $6,300,738.51. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 51,793 shares in the company, valued at $38,154,349.31. This represents a 14.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 584,823 shares of company stock valued at $386,274,777. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $576.74 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $414.50 and a one year high of $740.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.11, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $655.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $609.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.33 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on META shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $753.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $800.00 price target (up from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $718.31.

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.