Emfo LLC Decreases Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Emfo LLC reduced its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 20.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,787 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 997 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.2% of Emfo LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Emfo LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 80.4% in the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 68.9% in the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $30,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on META shares. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $410.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Wolfe Research increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $430.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $405.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $509.28.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total transaction of $305,370.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,043,756. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total transaction of $305,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,043,756. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.77, for a total value of $7,513,615.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,459,469 shares of company stock worth $691,726,161 in the last three months. 14.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock traded down $1.45 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $498.78. The company had a trading volume of 2,598,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,042,287. The company has a quick ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $492.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $394.61. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $207.13 and a 52 week high of $531.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.27 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $40.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.12 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 28.98% and a return on equity of 29.48%. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.00 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.42%.

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.