Alpine Bank Wealth Management Invests $2.49 Million in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,328 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $2,494,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 102.6% during the 1st quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Moffett Nathanson raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Pivotal Research dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $830.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $664.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $719.52.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of META opened at $733.63 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $442.65 and a 52-week high of $740.91. The company has a market capitalization of $1.84 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.26. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $638.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $626.48. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 39.11%. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.71 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 8.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total transaction of $4,532,440.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 70,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,181,574.40. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 406 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.69, for a total value of $199,626.14. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 4,608 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,265,707.52. The trade was a 8.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 124,831 shares of company stock valued at $83,868,872. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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