DnB Asset Management AS Acquires 42,509 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

DnB Asset Management AS boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,554,033 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 42,509 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 3.9% of DnB Asset Management AS’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. DnB Asset Management AS owned approximately 0.06% of Meta Platforms worth $909,902,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JDM Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.76, for a total value of $535,542.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,477,780.40. This trade represents a 2.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $3,466,769.02. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at $15,422,186.45. The trade was a 18.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 584,823 shares of company stock valued at $386,274,777. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $576.74 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $414.50 and a 1 year high of $740.91. The business’s fifty day moving average is $655.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $608.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.11, 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 quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (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 last year, the firm earned $5.33 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on META shares. UBS Group upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $736.00 to $786.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $583.00 to $627.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $705.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Arete Research raised shares of Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.