Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Holdings Boosted by Lafayette Investments Inc.

Lafayette Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,655 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 114 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 2.5% of Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $10,143,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in META. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $4,223,148,000. Morgan Stanley purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,072,543,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,796,633,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,731,491,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 130,809,908 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $39,270,443,000 after purchasing an additional 5,001,647 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 2.5 %

META stock traded down $12.66 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $489.14. The company had a trading volume of 7,468,667 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,915,494. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $207.13 and a 1 year high of $531.49. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.25 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.93, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50 day moving average of $494.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $397.43.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released 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 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%. The company’s revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.00 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $465.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $519.53.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.59, for a total value of $291,675.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,853,183.67. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 97,093 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.67, for a total value of $45,601,669.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.59, for a total transaction of $291,675.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,813 shares in the company, valued at $18,853,183.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,421,182 shares of company stock worth $677,574,550. 13.75% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.