iA Global Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 319,698 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 23,669 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 3.3% of iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $187,186,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. JDM Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Cordant Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $70,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $6,300,738.51. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,154,349.31. This represents a 14.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.00, for a total transaction of $243,670.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 17,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,576,930. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 622,844 shares of company stock valued at $409,212,161. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META stock opened at $596.25 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $414.50 and a 1-year high of $740.91. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $655.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $605.74. The company has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.93, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Argus set a $775.00 target price on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $718.31.

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.