Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Makes New Investment in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Get Rating) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 12,010 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,445,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Heritage Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth approximately $146,000. Capital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,141,000. RDA Financial Network bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,661,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $300,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $117,000. 60.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 4.5 %

Meta Platforms stock traded down $9.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $195.61. 50,141,098 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 33,964,027. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $88.09 and a 12 month high of $236.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $166.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $140.33. The company has a market cap of $507.15 billion, a PE ratio of 22.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.18.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.88. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 21.23% and a net margin of 19.90%. The business had revenue of $32.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.67 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 9.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 342 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.44, for a total value of $39,822.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 25,819 shares in the company, valued at $3,006,364.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Marne L. Levine sold 23,317 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.00, for a total value of $4,453,547.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $789,976. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 342 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.44, for a total value of $39,822.48. Following the sale, the insider now owns 25,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,006,364.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 68,342 shares of company stock valued at $12,285,012 over the last quarter. 14.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $210.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $130.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $250.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Thursday. Arete Research restated a “sell” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $130.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, thirty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has 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 $209.27.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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Meta Platforms, Inc, engages in the development of social media applications. It builds technology that helps people connect, find communities, and grow businesses. It operates through the Family of Apps (FoA) and Reality Labs (RL) segments. The FoA segment consists of Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and other services.