Semus Wealth Partners LLC Has $1.91 Million Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Semus Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,259 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 408 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.3% of Semus Wealth Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Semus Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,908,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of META. Seelaus Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $960,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,873 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,097,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 317 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $186,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. VeraBank N.A. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,954 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,144,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindenwold Advisors INC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% in 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 last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $657.50 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $414.50 and a 52-week high of $740.91. The company has a fifty day moving average of $648.73 and a 200-day moving average of $594.06.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $5.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.49, for a total transaction of $238,503.37. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 19,166 shares in the company, valued at $11,068,173.34. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 3,523 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.10, for a total value of $2,469,975.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 812,422 shares of company stock valued at $525,534,818. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Arete Research raised Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $790.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $719.26.

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.