Level Four Advisory Services LLC Acquires 2,553 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 45,451 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,553 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.1% of Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $26,613,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $303,000. Vertex Planning Partners LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 103,435 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $60,562,000 after buying an additional 8,861 shares during the period. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $444,000. Finally, Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $14,973,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 4.3 %

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

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, 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $750.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $583.00 to $627.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $718.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $627.05, for a total transaction of $577,513.05. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 31,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,552,673.10. The trade was a 2.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,422,186.45. The trade was a 18.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 584,823 shares of company stock worth $386,274,777. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.