Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Bought by Apella Capital LLC

Apella Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,532 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,483,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of META. Lindenwold Advisors INC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 5,918 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,388,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $625,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the third quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 5,714 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,271,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the third quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,841 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,199,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the third quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $617.12 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $358.61 and a one year high of $638.40. The business has a fifty day moving average of $595.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $554.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on META shares. JMP Securities upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $650.05.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.70, for a total transaction of $520,103.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,612,808.90. The trade was a 2.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total transaction of $407,167.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,414 shares in the company, valued at $1,901,598. This represents a 17.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 495,682 shares of company stock valued at $301,101,199 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% 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.