Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stake Boosted by Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC grew its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 99,689 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,013 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.9% of Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $35,286,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $4,223,148,000. Morgan Stanley acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $4,072,543,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $1,796,633,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $1,731,491,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 130,809,908 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $39,270,443,000 after purchasing an additional 5,001,647 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock traded down $8.28 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $485.58. 15,191,214 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,907,553. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $202.54 and a 12-month high of $523.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 2.67. The stock has a market cap of $1.24 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $464.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $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. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 19.94 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $414.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $465.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $420.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $385.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $415.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $496.35.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total value of $295,594.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 39,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,993,314.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total value of $295,594.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 39,568 shares in the company, valued at $19,993,314.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 1,064 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 2nd. The shares were 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,504,435 shares of company stock worth $703,629,367. Company insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

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.