Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Position Lessened by Palouse Capital Management Inc.

Palouse Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,670 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 45 shares during the quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,007,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 625.0% during the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 68.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 65.2% during the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 109 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock traded down $20.73 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $481.07. 25,215,364 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,967,675. The firm has a market cap of $1.23 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.29, a PEG ratio of 1.27 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $494.55 and a 200 day moving average of $398.64. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $207.13 and a 12 month high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $40.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.12 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 29.48% and a net margin of 28.98%. The company’s revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.00 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 13.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $380.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $420.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $519.53.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 97,093 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.67, for a total value of $45,601,669.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 97,093 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.67, for a total value of $45,601,669.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.03, for a total value of $239,134.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 79,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,015,070.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,421,182 shares of company stock valued at $677,574,550. 13.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms 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.