Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. Has $3.29 Million Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,292 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 177 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 0.9% of Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $5,260,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,548 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,795,000 after buying an additional 2,397 shares in the last quarter. Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,230 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $435,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $332,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,344 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,892,000 after buying an additional 628 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on META. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Wolfe Research raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $430.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $520.28.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded up $14.37 on Tuesday, reaching $496.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 14,985,989 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,131,002. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $207.13 and a 52-week high of $531.49. The company has a market cap of $1.26 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.10, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $494.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $401.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 2.67.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 28.98% and a return on equity of 29.48%. The business had revenue of $40.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.00 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $517.75, for a total transaction of $253,697.50. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,924,027.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 ninety days, insiders sold 1,391,935 shares of company stock valued at $666,288,408. Company insiders own 14.03% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms 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.