Central Bank & Trust Co. trimmed its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,638 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 492 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.0% of Central Bank & Trust Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Central Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $11,895,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in META. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $19,949,512,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $13,517,178,000 after acquiring an additional 23,417,803 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 78,471.1% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,248,763 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,658,713,000 after acquiring an additional 6,240,810 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,243,603,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,445,565 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $13,727,613,000 after acquiring an additional 2,787,832 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Meta Platforms Price Performance
Shares of META stock opened at $697.71 on Monday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $587.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $615.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The firm has a market cap of $1.75 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.26. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $442.65 and a one year 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.71 EPS. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.30%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 8.19%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms
In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $595.00, for a total value of $547,995.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,649,280. The trade was a 2.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total value of $4,532,440.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 70,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,181,574.40. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 55,563 shares of company stock worth $34,793,185. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research firms have issued reports on META. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $628.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $735.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $702.48.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Meta Platforms
About Meta Platforms
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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