First Hawaiian Bank Raises Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

First Hawaiian Bank increased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,329 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 1.1% of First Hawaiian Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. First Hawaiian Bank's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $18,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of META. Adirondack Trust Co. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 5,328 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,071,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 28.3% in the first quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 983 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $567,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 478.8% during the first quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 6,176 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,559,000 after buying an additional 5,109 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth $2,940,000. Finally, Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA raised its position in Meta Platforms by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA now owns 6,910 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,983,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock traded down $2.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $642.23. 16,230,863 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,482,228. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $578.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $611.28. 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 $1.61 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.71 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on META. TD Securities cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Argus set a $775.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $683.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $701.05.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 406 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 8.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $635.41, for a total transaction of $329,777.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,221 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,202,725.61. This represents a 1.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 56,664 shares of company stock valued at $35,484,670. 13.61% of the stock is currently 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.