Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Unison Asset Management LLC

Unison Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,851 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 2,077 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 10.6% of Unison Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Unison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $21,577,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of META. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 32.5% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 457,092 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $261,680,000 after buying an additional 112,047 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.1% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 716,847 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $410,352,000 after buying an additional 14,754 shares during the last quarter. Stillwater Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth about $423,000. Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.2% in the third quarter. Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 703 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $417,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Safeguard Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 51.9% in the third quarter. Safeguard Financial LLC now owns 673 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $385,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $800.00 price target (up previously from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $717.90.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.4 %

META stock opened at $728.56 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $636.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $580.80. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $414.50 and a fifty-two week high of $729.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 previous year, the business posted $5.33 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.36%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 7,296 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $553.48, for a total value of $4,038,190.08. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,416,908.60. This trade represents a 15.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,644 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $553.55, for a total value of $10,320,386.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,769 shares in the company, valued at $25,888,979.95. The trade was a 28.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 793,070 shares of company stock valued at $504,185,108 in the last three months. Corporate 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.