Eos Management L.P. Raises Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Eos Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 301.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,222 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 12,185 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 2.5% of Eos Management L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Eos Management L.P.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,742,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. WoodTrust Financial Corp grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 1,547 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $548,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners now owns 4,566 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,616,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $520,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Edge Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Edge Wealth Management LLC now owns 730 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 736 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on META. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $370.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $397.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $545.00 price target (down previously from $600.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total value of $3,803,278.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 18,432 shares in the company, valued at $8,723,496.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total value of $287,381.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 37,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,288,255. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total transaction of $3,803,278.08. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 18,432 shares in the company, valued at $8,723,496.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,349,148 shares of company stock valued at $649,552,559. Corporate insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META traded up $1.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $443.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 32,645,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,391,986. The business’s fifty day moving average is $494.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $404.27. The stock has a market cap of $1.13 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.46, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 2.67. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $229.85 and a 1 year high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.37% and a net margin of 32.06%. Analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

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.