Graypoint LLC Buys 760 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Graypoint LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,041 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 760 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $11,734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JDM Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Halpern Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on META shares. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $719.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $811.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Pivotal Research increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $646.90.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.42, for a total value of $8,023,999.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 420,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $259,869,360.30. This represents a 3.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,644 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $553.55, for a total value of $10,320,386.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,888,979.95. This trade represents a 28.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 410,536 shares of company stock worth $249,024,275 in the last three months. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock traded up $5.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $615.86. The company had a trading volume of 19,216,416 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,336,346. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $592.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $552.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $358.61 and a 12-month high of $638.40. The company has a market capitalization of $1.55 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.32%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

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.