Heartland Bank & Trust Co raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 18.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,373 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 1,125 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 2.2% of Heartland Bank & Trust Co's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Heartland Bank & Trust Co's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms
In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.66, for a total transaction of $525,577.86. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,261 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,268,742.26. This trade represents a 2.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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 that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.69, for a total transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 110,002 shares of company stock valued at $73,353,340 over the last 90 days. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.0%
NASDAQ:META traded up $13.67 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $712.20. The stock had a trading volume of 13,806,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,499,652. 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 $442.65 and a 1-year high of $740.91. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $625.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $624.38. The company has a market cap of $1.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.26.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.11% and a return on equity of 38.69%. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.71 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend
The company 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 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.19%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several analysts have recently commented on META shares. Susquehanna lowered their price target 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. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Securities reduced their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $712.69.
Read Our Latest Analysis 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.
Read More
Before you consider Meta Platforms, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Meta Platforms wasn't on the list.
While Meta Platforms currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Nuclear energy stocks are roaring. It's the hottest energy sector of the year. Cameco Corp, Paladin Energy, and BWX Technologies were all up more than 40% in 2024. The biggest market moves could still be ahead of us, and there are seven nuclear energy stocks that could rise much higher in the next several months. To unlock these tickers, enter your email address below.
Get This Free Report
