Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stake Reduced by Pitti Group Wealth Management LLC

Pitti Group Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 10.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,259 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 710 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 3.7% of Pitti Group Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Pitti Group Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JDM Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Cordant Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $70,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $584.06 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.48 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.42, a P/E/G 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $656.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $604.69. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $414.50 and a 1-year high of $740.91.

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

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.50, for a total transaction of $369,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,446 shares in the company, valued at $4,523,445. The trade was a 7.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $604.46, for a total value of $21,712,807.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 632,023 shares of company stock worth $414,734,884 over the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on META. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $811.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wolfe Research upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Arete Research raised Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two research 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $718.31.

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.