Shorepath Capital Management LLC Makes New $8.44 Million Investment in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Shorepath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 23,839 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,438,000. Meta Platforms accounts for 7.5% of Shorepath Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 80.4% in the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $431.05, for a total transaction of $252,164.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,643 shares in the company, valued at $15,794,965.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $503.18, for a total transaction of $8,404,112.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 301,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $151,697,700.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $431.05, for a total value of $252,164.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,794,965.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 437,528 shares of company stock worth $215,768,262. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.1 %

Meta Platforms stock traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $504.16. The stock had a trading volume of 10,243,347 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,607,878. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $480.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $442.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.28 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $271.42 and a 12 month high of $531.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on META shares. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $562.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $530.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.41.

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.