Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Position Increased by Cozad Asset Management Inc.

Cozad Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,728 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 101 shares during the quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,735,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 23.3% in the third quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,151 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,348,000 after buying an additional 2,106 shares during the period. Avion Wealth increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 853 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Lake Street Financial LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Financial LLC now owns 19,830 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,028,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares during the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $204,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 13,708 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,115,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded down $1.76 on Tuesday, hitting $430.86. 9,919,623 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,318,672. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $493.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $406.15. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $229.85 and a 12-month high of $531.49. The company has a market cap of $1.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.08, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.2 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. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 79,944 shares in the company, valued at $39,015,070.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total transaction of $287,381.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at $18,288,255. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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 dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.03, for a total transaction of $239,134.70. Following the sale, 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 1,276,482 shares of company stock worth $620,451,095. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $565.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $530.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $555.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.18.

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.