Abbrea Capital LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Abbrea Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 44,583 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,129 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 2.3% of Abbrea Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Abbrea Capital LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $15,781,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 451,581 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $159,841,000 after acquiring an additional 32,423 shares during the period. Bank of Stockton lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 4,743 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,819,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Signify Wealth purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $228,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 223,788 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $79,212,000 after acquiring an additional 4,025 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 10,962 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,880,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META traded up $1.91 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $443.29. The stock had a trading volume of 31,966,981 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,382,463. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $495.08 and a 200-day moving average of $403.40. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.13 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $229.85 and a 12-month high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.37%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $545.00 price objective (down previously from $600.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $397.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.18.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total value of $287,381.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,288,255. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total transaction of $3,803,278.08. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 18,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,723,496.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total transaction of $287,381.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,288,255. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,349,148 shares of company stock worth $649,552,559. 13.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.