Echo Wealth Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Echo Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 799 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 34 shares during the period. Echo Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $468,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JDM Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Halpern Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.3 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $676.49 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $387.10 and a 12 month high of $682.58. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $608.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $563.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market cap of $1.71 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.86, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.30%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on META shares. Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Guggenheim increased 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. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $655.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $567.70, for a total value of $511,497.70. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,360,833.70. This trade represents a 2.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $567.58, for a total transaction of $234,410.54. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,842,668.52. This represents a 3.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 661,312 shares of company stock worth $407,377,422. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.