Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Bought by Westmount Partners LLC

Westmount Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 13.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,651 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 656 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 1.0% of Westmount Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Westmount Partners LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,447,975,000 after buying an additional 9,500,444 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 61,769.3% during the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 4,132,870 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,365,820,000 after purchasing an additional 4,126,190 shares in the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at $595,152,000. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4,658.5% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 909,548 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $520,662,000 after purchasing an additional 890,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 48,160,608 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $27,470,870,000 after purchasing an additional 698,884 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ:META traded down $8.91 on Monday, hitting $606.95. 6,896,422 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,402,099. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $358.61 and a 1 year high of $638.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $593.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $553.55. The company has a market cap of $1.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. Equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.33%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $750.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $583.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $650.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.97, for a total value of $21,838,890.37. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $580.65, for a total value of $239,808.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 11,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,456,828. The trade was a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 411,357 shares of company stock valued at $249,545,428. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.