Saxon Interests Inc. Has $3.56 Million Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Saxon Interests Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,083 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.6% of Saxon Interests Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Saxon Interests Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in META. JDM Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total transaction of $407,167.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,901,598. The trade was a 17.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 420 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.17, for a total transaction of $252,071.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 518,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $310,890,460.68. The trade was a 0.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 496,174 shares of company stock valued at $301,408,499 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $612.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $596.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $556.71. The stock has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $370.95 and a twelve month high of $638.40.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. As a group, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $583.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Susquehanna raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $636.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $650.05.

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.