Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Position Lessened by Accent Capital Management LLC

Accent Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,422 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 536 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 6.2% of Accent Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Accent Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $10,786,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 4.3 %

Shares of META opened at $576.74 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $414.50 and a fifty-two week high of $740.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $655.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $608.48. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.33 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,060 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 5,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,785,747.13. This trade represents a 49.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 17,514 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders sold 584,823 shares of company stock valued at $386,274,777 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $800.00 target price (up previously from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark upgraded Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $820.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Two investment 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $718.31.

Meta Platforms Company 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.