Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Position Increased by Yarbrough Capital LLC

Yarbrough Capital LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 284,239 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,920 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 6.5% of Yarbrough Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Yarbrough Capital LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $208,739,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $20,230,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,537,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 294.7% in the 1st quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $86,454,000 after purchasing an additional 112,000 shares during the period. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 16.9% in the 1st quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 700 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Redwood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth approximately $395,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $658.79 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $645.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $704.88. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.66 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.03 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $837.00 to $802.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $840.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $905.00 to $875.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $822.22.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $658.69, for a total value of $341,860.11. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 28,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,876,738.02. The trade was a 1.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $658.14, for a total transaction of $340,258.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,029,308. The trade was a 4.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 41,038 shares of company stock worth $25,533,240 over the last quarter. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.