Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Position Cut by Yousif Capital Management LLC

Yousif Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 319,781 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 11,166 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.3% of Yousif Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $113,190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 183,244,796 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $55,011,920,000 after acquiring an additional 1,733,182 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 130,809,908 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $39,270,443,000 after acquiring an additional 5,001,647 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.4% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 36,277,772 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,890,950,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,978 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,003,927 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,906,009,000 after acquiring an additional 946,871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,143,462 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,945,799,000 after acquiring an additional 111,735 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 3.0 %

NASDAQ:META traded up $14.37 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $496.10. 14,985,989 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,131,002. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 2.67. The firm has a market cap of $1.26 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.30, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $207.13 and a 52-week high of $531.49. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $495.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $402.50.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 28.98% and a return on equity of 29.48%. The business had revenue of $40.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.00 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $375.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $385.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $520.28.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 10,956 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total transaction of $5,185,255.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 76,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,157,645.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 10,956 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total value of $5,185,255.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 76,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,157,645.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,500 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $395.00, for a total transaction of $1,777,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,796,825. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,392,425 shares of company stock valued at $666,533,986 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 14.03% of the company’s stock.

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.