Colonial Trust Co SC Acquires 1,042 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Colonial Trust Co SC raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,445 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,042 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.1% of Colonial Trust Co SC's portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Colonial Trust Co SC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $7,287,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,198,005 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $111,948,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,502,553 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 49,181,127 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $28,719,970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020,519 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,317,434 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $24,777,282,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049,121 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,317,105 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $23,606,338,000 after buying an additional 1,141,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $19,949,512,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 902 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $713.32, for a total value of $643,414.64. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,607,740.16. This represents a 3.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $555.54, for a total value of $337,768.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 3,798 shares in the company, valued at $2,109,940.92. The trade was a 13.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 209,749 shares of company stock worth $148,089,532. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $587.31 on Wednesday. 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 fifty day moving average of $572.38 and a 200 day moving average of $604.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.49 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.55, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $442.65 and a 52 week high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.71 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. This is a boost from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on META. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $740.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $695.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One research 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $696.45.

Meta Platforms 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.

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