Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC cut its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 80.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 397 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,623 shares during the period. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $232,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JDM Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $612.77 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $370.95 and a 52 week high of $638.40. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $596.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $556.71. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.19.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.33%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.42%.
A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Bank of America upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $636.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $650.05.
Get Our Latest Analysis on Meta Platforms
In other Meta Platforms news, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 7,296 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $553.48, for a total value of $4,038,190.08. Following the sale, the insider now owns 38,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,416,908.60. This trade represents a 15.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 14,746 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $553.53, for a total value of $8,162,353.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 496,174 shares of company stock worth $301,408,499 in the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
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.
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