Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV

Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV trimmed its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 838 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 15 shares during the period. Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of META. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Cordant Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $61,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.6 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $683.62 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $647.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $591.96. The stock has a market cap of $1.73 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $414.50 and a 1-year high of $740.91. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 earned $5.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.31%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $705.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” 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 given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $719.26.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of the stock in a transaction on Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $3,466,769.02. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,422,186.45. This trade represents a 18.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,668 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $703.21, for a total transaction of $13,830,734.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 809,804 shares of company stock valued at $523,576,440 in the last ninety days. 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.