Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Boosts Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 19.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,075 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,640 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 0.6% of Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $25,158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of META. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth about $240,000. ACT Advisors LLC. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth $238,000. Solidarity Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,119,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 15.4% in the third quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 5,656 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,698,000 after purchasing an additional 755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lineweaver Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at about $423,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.03, for a total value of $239,134.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 79,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at $39,015,070.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.03, for a total value of $239,134.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 79,944 shares in the company, valued at $39,015,070.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,681 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.85, for a total transaction of $7,751,361.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,277,048 shares of company stock valued at $620,679,759 over the last ninety days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on META. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $535.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $480.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $540.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META traded down $10.67 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $432.62. The stock had a trading volume of 21,472,414 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,429,988. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $229.85 and a 12 month high of $531.49. The company's 50-day moving average is $493.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $406.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.85, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.2 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

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.

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