Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by Sigma Planning Corp

Sigma Planning Corp boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,632 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,685 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 0.6% of Sigma Planning Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $19,106,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 61,769.3% during the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 4,132,870 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,365,820,000 after buying an additional 4,126,190 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 87,269.8% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,067,659 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $625,125,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066,437 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4,658.5% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 909,548 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $520,662,000 after acquiring an additional 890,434 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 48,160,608 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $27,470,870,000 after purchasing an additional 698,884 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 14.6% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,318,046 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,471,822,000 after purchasing an additional 550,852 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $668.20 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $414.50 and a 12-month high of $740.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $1.69 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $653.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $596.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm posted $5.33 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.31%. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 8.78%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $665.75, for a total transaction of $613,155.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,212,039.50. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.49, for a total value of $238,503.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 19,166 shares in the company, valued at $11,068,173.34. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 813,951 shares of company stock worth $526,565,232 in the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Tigress Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two investment 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.