Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc’s 6th Largest Position

Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc decreased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 32,799 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 303 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 5.1% of Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $19,204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,020 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,939,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 13,810 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $8,086,000 after purchasing an additional 3,019 shares during the period. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 84.4% in the 4th quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 18,489 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $11,424,000 after purchasing an additional 8,464 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,080 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $632,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,725 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,523,000 after buying an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $592.49 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $568.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $604.22. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $442.65 and a fifty-two week high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.71 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Moffett Nathanson lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $696.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,060 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $3,727,550.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 5,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,747.13. This trade represents a 49.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $677.71, for a total value of $13,554,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 308,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $209,199,589.06. The trade was a 6.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 155,689 shares of company stock valued at $109,097,842 over the last quarter. Corporate 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.