Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Connors Investor Services Inc.

Connors Investor Services Inc. reduced its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,802 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 674 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.7% of Connors Investor Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Connors Investor Services Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $18,035,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Pivotal Research boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $655.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $681.95.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $677.71, for a total value of $13,554,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 308,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $209,199,589.06. The trade was a 6.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,060 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $3,727,550.20. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 5,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,785,747.13. This trade represents a 49.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 248,463 shares of company stock valued at $175,403,314. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.9 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $554.44 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $581.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $604.05. The firm has a market cap of $1.40 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $427.11 and a twelve month high of $740.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 8.78%.

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.