Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.

Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,322 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 313 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.6% of Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Altus Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 36.2% during the fourth quarter. Altus Wealth Management LLC now owns 704 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $236,000. Level Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Level Financial Advisors now owns 802 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Eaton Cambridge Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Eaton Cambridge Inc. now owns 710 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JDH Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $304,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $567.70, for a total transaction of $511,497.70. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,360,833.70. The trade was a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 7,296 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $553.48, for a total transaction of $4,038,190.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,416,908.60. This trade represents a 15.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 661,804 shares of company stock worth $407,745,741 over the last ninety days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $689.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.74 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.81, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $387.10 and a 1-year high of $710.79. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $613.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $565.78.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 39.74% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 25.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $688.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Mizuho increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Pivotal Research boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $706.76.

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.