Zhang Financial LLC Has $2.50 Million Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Zhang Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 12.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,068 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 804 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of META. Stone House Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 68.9% in the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 65.2% in the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 109 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META stock traded down $19.31 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $482.49. The stock had a trading volume of 16,907,539 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,044,914. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.23 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 2.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $494.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $397.43. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $207.13 and a fifty-two week high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $40.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.12 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 28.98% and a return on equity of 29.48%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.00 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.42%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.59, for a total transaction of $291,675.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,853,183.67. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 10,956 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total transaction of $5,185,255.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 76,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,157,645.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.59, for a total transaction of $291,675.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,813 shares in the company, valued at $18,853,183.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,421,182 shares of company stock worth $677,574,550. 13.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $527.00 to $588.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $590.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $519.53.

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.