Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Position Boosted by Lord Abbett & CO. LLC

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 652,767 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,752 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.2% of Lord Abbett & CO. LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $382,202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $19,949,512,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 78,471.1% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,248,763 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,658,713,000 after purchasing an additional 6,240,810 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,243,603,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,901,521 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,211,967,000 after purchasing an additional 1,892,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,198,005 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $111,948,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502,553 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $765.00 to $640.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $624.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Benchmark decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $655.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $676.55.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $533.15 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $414.50 and a 52-week high of $740.91. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business has a fifty day moving average of $590.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $604.75. The stock has a market cap of $1.35 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.29, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $666.00, for a total value of $602,730.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,510,470. The trade was a 3.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $3,466,769.02. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 308,068 shares of company stock worth $214,968,924. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.