Morling Financial Advisors LLC Has $3.09 Million Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Morling Financial Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,273 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 228 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.1% of Morling Financial Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Morling Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,087,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Cordant Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Bear Mountain Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $70,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META stock opened at $607.60 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $414.50 and a 1-year high of $740.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $1.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $658.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $603.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 period last year, the firm posted $5.33 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $800.00 price objective (up from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Arete Research upgraded Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $770.00 price objective (up from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $719.26.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $595.00, for a total transaction of $547,995.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,649,280. This trade represents a 2.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.56, for a total value of $260,008.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 18,340 shares in the company, valued at $11,546,130.40. The trade was a 2.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 690,689 shares of company stock worth $451,269,409 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.