JW Asset Management LLC Purchases New Shares in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

JW Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,200 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,874,000. Meta Platforms accounts for about 0.9% of JW Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of META. Seelaus Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Meredith Wealth Planning increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,873 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,097,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 317 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. VeraBank N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,954 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LGL Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. LGL Partners LLC now owns 2,834 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,659,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $607.60 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $414.50 and a 52 week high of $740.91. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $658.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $603.19. The company has a market cap of $1.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.40, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. 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 (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $5.33 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $811.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $583.00 to $627.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $719.26.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.56, for a total transaction of $260,008.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 18,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,546,130.40. The trade was a 2.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,060 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $3,727,550.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 5,139 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,747.13. This represents a 49.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 690,689 shares of company stock valued at $451,269,409 in the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.