Avalon Capital Management Invests $392,000 in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Avalon Capital Management bought a new stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,108 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $392,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 625.0% during the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 68.9% during the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 65.2% during the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 109 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. 62.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META traded up $1.82 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $509.58. 8,117,199 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,378,908. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $454.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $369.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.30 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $197.90 and a 52 week 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.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 29.48% and a net margin of 28.98%. The firm had revenue of $40.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.00 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 19.94 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 13.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on META shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $415.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $435.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $496.35.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.90, for a total transaction of $200,873.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,326,495. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 31,493 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $492.37, for a total value of $15,506,208.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.90, for a total value of $200,873.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,326,495. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,365,299 shares of company stock worth $626,512,270. Insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Company 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.