Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. Sells 8,020 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 85.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,358 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 8,020 shares during the quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $795,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $595.00, for a total value of $538,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,535 shares in the company, valued at $21,738,325. This trade represents a 2.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.97, for a total value of $21,838,890.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 813,951 shares of company stock worth $526,565,232. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.5 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $668.20 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.69 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.93, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $414.50 and a 52-week high of $740.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $653.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $596.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.33 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.31%. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Benchmark raised Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $820.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective (up from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $719.26.

Meta Platforms Company 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.