Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 550,091 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,738 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 2.9% of Xponance Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $322,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in META. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Cordant Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $70,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 51,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,154,349.31. This trade represents a 14.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,060 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 value of $3,727,550.20. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 5,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,747.13. The trade was a 49.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 622,844 shares of company stock worth $409,212,161. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $596.25 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $655.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $605.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $414.50 and a fifty-two week high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 8.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on META shares. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $770.00 price target (up from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $753.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $750.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $718.31.

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.