Eagle Ridge Investment Management Has $32.12 Million Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Eagle Ridge Investment Management lowered its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 90,751 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 2,020 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 3.2% of Eagle Ridge Investment Management’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Eagle Ridge Investment Management’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $32,122,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 80.4% in the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 68.9% in the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 65.2% in the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 109 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on META shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $480.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $527.00 to $588.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $397.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 2.7 %

META traded down $11.97 during trading on Monday, hitting $431.32. The stock had a trading volume of 15,821,314 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,355,781. The company has a market capitalization of $1.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.89, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $229.85 and a twelve month high of $531.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.68. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $494.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $405.39.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. The company had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $404.00, for a total value of $228,664.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,026,880. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 2,025 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total value of $958,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,757,883.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.00, for a total transaction of $228,664.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 34,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,026,880. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,277,048 shares of company stock valued at $620,679,759. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.