Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Holdings Reduced by Salem Investment Counselors Inc.

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 164,696 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 6,152 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 3.2% of Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $96,431,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,827,565 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $7,915,451,000 after purchasing an additional 118,298 shares in the last quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 111.4% in the 3rd quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,679 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,686,000 after acquiring an additional 6,155 shares during the period. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 9,735 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,573,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 412,046 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $235,872,000 after acquiring an additional 5,594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G PLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 14.6% during the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 721,339 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $412,606,000 after purchasing an additional 91,773 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META traded down $9.08 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $606.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,767,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,382,023. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. The company’s 50-day moving average is $593.63 and its 200-day moving average is $553.55. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $358.61 and a 52 week high of $638.40. The firm has a market cap of $1.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $589.97, for a total transaction of $533,922.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,292 shares in the company, valued at $19,641,281.24. The trade was a 2.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 1,131 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.16, for a total value of $652,767.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $709,329.64. The trade was a 47.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 411,357 shares of company stock worth $249,545,428. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $641.00 to $685.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $670.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $650.05.

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.