Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Acquired by Barrier Capital Management LLC

Barrier Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,108 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 1,724 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 9.0% of Barrier Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Barrier Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $11,188,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Meta Platforms Trading Up 4.3 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $597.02 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $442.65 and a 12 month high of $740.91. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $575.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $603.80. The stock has a market cap of $1.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.71 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.19%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $676.00, for a total transaction of $279,188.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,443,524. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $706.72, for a total value of $9,169,692.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $121,588,349.12. This represents a 7.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 237,017 shares of company stock worth $167,207,524 in the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Moffett Nathanson lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Guggenheim increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Roth Capital increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $696.45.

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.