Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,967 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 2.0% of Sentry Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 68.9% in the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp grew its position in Meta Platforms by 65.2% during the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 109 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on META. Barclays increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, March 18th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One research 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.28.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.3 %

META opened at $500.23 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $492.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $394.61. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $207.13 and a 1-year high of $531.49. The company has a market cap of $1.28 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 29.48% and a net margin of 28.98%. The business had revenue of $40.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 13.42%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $364.99, for a total value of $7,183,368.19. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 10,956 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total transaction of $5,185,255.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 76,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,157,645.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $364.99, for a total value of $7,183,368.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,459,469 shares of company stock valued at $691,726,161 over the last ninety days. 14.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.