Waycross Partners LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Waycross Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,048 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,498 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 4.8% of Waycross Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Waycross Partners LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $25,502,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 65.2% in the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 109 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 552 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.00, for a total value of $256,128.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,853,952. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 552 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.00, for a total transaction of $256,128.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,168 shares in the company, valued at $15,853,952. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.85, for a total value of $7,751,361.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,276,482 shares of company stock valued at $620,451,095. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock traded down $2.45 during mid-day 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 stock has a market cap of $1.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50 day moving average is $492.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $406.97. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $229.85 and a fifty-two week high of $531.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. The company had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. Equities research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $470.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $509.18.

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.