Hartford Funds Management Co LLC Increases Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,354 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 0.1% of Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 130,809,908 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $39,270,443,000 after purchasing an additional 5,001,647 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 11,154.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,952,254 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,752,900,000 after acquiring an additional 4,908,251 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 55.9% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,632,631 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,591,602,000 after buying an additional 3,093,715 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1,457.5% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,156,360 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,117,225,000 after buying an additional 2,953,704 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth about $834,315,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.6 %

Meta Platforms stock traded down $2.45 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $430.17. 18,396,504 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,427,248. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $229.85 and a 52-week high of $531.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.10 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $492.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $406.97. 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 results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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 presently 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the business’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 $18,288,255. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $18,288,255. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 34,398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.52, for a total transaction of $15,737,772.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,276,482 shares of company stock worth $620,451,095. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $530.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Wolfe Research cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $397.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $555.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus 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.