Hanseatic Management Services Inc. Buys 21 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Hanseatic Management Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,759 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 2.1% of Hanseatic Management Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Hanseatic Management Services Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,615,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. JDM Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Halpern Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth about $49,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of META stock opened at $612.77 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $370.95 and a 52-week high of $638.40. The business’s fifty day moving average is $597.37 and its 200 day moving average is $557.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.16, for a total transaction of $237,128.08. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,147,531.12. This trade represents a 3.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $604.54, for a total value of $547,108.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 31,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,804,216.70. This represents a 2.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 495,269 shares of company stock valued at $300,888,396 in the last quarter. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on META. UBS Group lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $719.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $605.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus 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.