Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s 6th Largest Position

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 21.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,548 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,397 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 0.9% of Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,795,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 65.2% in the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 109 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.03, for a total transaction of $239,134.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 79,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,015,070.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of Meta Platforms 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 79,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,015,070.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.36, for a total transaction of $7,722,037.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,391,935 shares of company stock worth $666,288,408 over the last three months. Company insiders own 14.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $385.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Wedbush upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $420.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $520.28.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META traded up $14.94 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $496.67. 11,876,079 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,088,047. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $494.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $401.23. The company has a market cap of $1.27 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $207.13 and a 1 year high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.