Old North State Trust LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 55.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,002 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the quarter. Old North State Trust LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Meta Platforms Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:META traded down $2.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $642.23. The company had a trading volume of 16,230,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,491,179. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $1.61 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.85, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The company's 50-day moving average price is $578.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $610.83. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.71 EPS. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 8.19%.
Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms
In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 406 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.69, for a total value of $199,626.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 4,608 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,265,707.52. This represents a 8.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 1.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research firms have recently weighed in on META. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $628.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $701.05.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on META
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.
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