Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Bought by Equitable Trust Co.

Key Points

• Equitable Trust Co. increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 32.0%, acquiring 5,707 additional shares, bringing its total holdings to 23,538 shares valued at approximately $13.57 million.
• Meta Platforms has received favorable ratings from analysts, with a consensus price target of $754.07, and most analysts categorizing the stock as a "Moderate Buy."
• The company recently reported a strong quarterly earnings performance, posting $6.43 EPS, exceeding estimates by $1.10, alongside a revenue of $42.31 billion.

Equitable Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 32.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,538 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,707 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $13,566,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $20,230,000 after buying an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,537,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 221,459 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $129,666,000 after acquiring an additional 7,587 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 6,189 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,624,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,243,603,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on META. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $783.00 to $811.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $828.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $815.09.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded down $23.43 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $750.01. The stock had a trading volume of 18,985,910 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,659,175. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $450.80 and a 1 year high of $784.75. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $699.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $644.61. The company has a market capitalization of $1.89 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 40.31%. The firm had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.16 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.08, for a total value of $336,232.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,755,013.36. This represents a 4.74% 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, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $719.86, for a total transaction of $373,607.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 25,550 shares in the company, valued at $18,392,423. This represents a 1.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 152,980 shares of company stock valued at $105,708,832 in the last ninety days. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company 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.