Brighton Jones LLC Increases Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 27.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,528 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,537 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $13,991,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 68.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 65.2% during the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 109 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 80.4% in the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded down $2.45 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $430.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 18,396,504 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,427,248. The company has a market capitalization of $1.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 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. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $493.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $406.15. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.2 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.49%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms 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 transaction of $287,381.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,288,255. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total value of $3,803,278.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 18,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,723,496.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total value of $287,381.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,288,255. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,276,482 shares of company stock valued at $620,451,095 in the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $470.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $525.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.18.

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.