Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Position Raised by First National Bank Sioux Falls

First National Bank Sioux Falls boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 28.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,571 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the period. First National Bank Sioux Falls' holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,482,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fjell Capital LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $1,836,000. Opulen Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $325,000. Daner Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $334,000. Appleton Partners Inc. MA raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA now owns 26,312 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $15,406,000 after acquiring an additional 951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $20,230,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.50, for a total value of $369,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,446 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,523,445. This represents a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total value of $4,532,440.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 70,040 shares in the company, valued at $46,181,574.40. This represents a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 85,682 shares of company stock worth $56,014,018 in the last 90 days. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on META. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $702.48.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of META traded down $2.70 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $691.44. The stock had a trading volume of 3,491,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,479,353. The firm has a market cap of $1.74 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.26. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $442.65 and a 52-week high of $740.91. 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 business's fifty day moving average is $597.08 and its 200 day moving average is $617.62.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released 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. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.71 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 8.19%.

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.