Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Increases Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,326 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 1,191 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.4% of Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $23,026,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of META. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $19,949,512,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 78,471.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,248,763 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,658,713,000 after buying an additional 6,240,810 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $2,243,603,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,901,521 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,211,967,000 after acquiring an additional 1,892,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,198,005 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $111,948,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,502,553 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $586.00 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $653.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $610.68. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $414.50 and a fifty-two week high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. 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%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $688.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $736.00 to $786.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $750.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $718.55.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $627.05, for a total transaction of $577,513.05. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 31,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,552,673.10. The trade was a 2.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $3,466,769.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,422,186.45. The trade was a 18.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 583,505 shares of company stock worth $385,495,911. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.