Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Acquired by Smartleaf Asset Management LLC

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 21.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,642 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 3,833 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.3% of Smartleaf Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $12,796,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 17.9% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $946,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at about $263,000. Geneva Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.7% in the third quarter. Geneva Partners LLC now owns 17,547 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $10,045,000 after purchasing an additional 2,382 shares during the period. Arista Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.5% in the third quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC now owns 458 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.1% in the third quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 40,576 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $23,227,000 after purchasing an additional 3,714 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $750.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $736.00 to $786.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $688.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $719.26.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,060 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $3,785,747.13. This trade represents a 49.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $589.16, for a total value of $243,323.08. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 17,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,318,548.24. This trade represents a 2.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 775,295 shares of company stock worth $504,237,715. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

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META stock opened at $625.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.59 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.16, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $414.50 and a 1 year high of $740.91. The stock's fifty day moving average is $656.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $600.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.33 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 8.78%.

Meta Platforms 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.

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