Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Holdings Lessened by Garrison Asset Management LLC

Garrison Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,331 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 84 shares during the period. Garrison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 3,856 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,158,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,895 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $569,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 13,476 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,046,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group grew its position in Meta Platforms by 37.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 3,527 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,059,000 after purchasing an additional 954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 5,256 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,578,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META traded up $0.66 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $481.73. 17,182,416 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,129,434. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $494.55 and its 200 day moving average is $399.98. The stock has a market cap of $1.23 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 2.67. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $207.13 and a 1-year high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $40.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.12 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 28.98% and a return on equity of 29.48%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.00 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on META shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $430.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $370.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One investment 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $520.28.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.59, for a total value of $291,675.15. Following the sale, the insider now owns 37,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,853,183.67. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.59, for a total transaction of $291,675.15. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,853,183.67. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 2,025 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total transaction of $958,392.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,053 shares in the company, valued at $4,757,883.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,392,501 shares of company stock valued at $666,506,318 over the last quarter. 14.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.