NorthRock Partners LLC Purchases 20,454 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

NorthRock Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 176.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,062 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 20,454 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 0.6% of NorthRock Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. NorthRock Partners LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $18,772,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valley Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Valley Financial Group Inc. now owns 588 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $344,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Meredith Wealth Planning boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,873 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Maiden Cove Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC now owns 481 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Riverwater Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 572 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ META traded down $3.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $640.34. 18,351,566 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,531,362. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $442.65 and a 52 week high of $740.91. The company has a market cap of $1.62 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.77, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $570.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $606.39.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.71 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $677.71, for a total transaction of $13,554,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 308,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $209,199,589.06. This trade represents a 6.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $3,466,769.02. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 20,935 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,422,186.45. The trade was a 18.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 81,171 shares of company stock worth $55,161,016. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $750.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped 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 note on Thursday, May 1st. One 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. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $701.05.

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.