Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,828 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 0.9% of Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,656,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Seelaus Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 317 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $186,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 5,918 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,388,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $625,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 2,680 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,569,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $736.67 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $414.50 and a 12-month high of $740.91. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $638.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $582.68. The company has a market capitalization of $1.87 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.20. 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 (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 8.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Susquehanna raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $811.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $717.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 7,296 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $553.48, for a total transaction of $4,038,190.08. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,695 shares in the company, valued at $21,416,908.60. The trade was a 15.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total value of $407,167.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,901,598. This trade represents a 17.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 793,070 shares of company stock worth $504,185,108 in the last ninety days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.