Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Acquired by Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,981 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,355 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $9,943,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 58,218 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,087,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 140,585 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $82,314,000 after acquiring an additional 897 shares during the last quarter. Brueske Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $459,000. Apollon Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $866,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,675,174 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,908,382,000 after purchasing an additional 110,040 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $3,466,769.02. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,422,186.45. This represents a 18.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.76, for a total value of $535,542.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 32,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,477,780.40. The trade was a 2.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 584,823 shares of company stock valued at $386,274,777 over the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $576.74 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $655.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $608.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.11, a P/E/G 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.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $5.33 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective (up previously from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark upgraded Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $820.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $718.31.

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.