GS Investments Inc. Sells 510 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

GS Investments Inc. decreased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 13,904 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 510 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 3.7% of GS Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. GS Investments Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $8,141,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of META. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Cordant Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Bear Mountain Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $70,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $596.25 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.93, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $655.38 and a 200-day moving average of $605.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $414.50 and a 52 week high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the business posted $5.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on META shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five 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 target price of $718.31.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $602.47, for a total value of $545,235.35. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,820 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,375,535.40. This represents a 2.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 622,844 shares of company stock worth $409,212,161 in the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.