2,169 Shares in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Purchased by South Plains Financial Inc.

South Plains Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,169 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $1,270,000. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.0% of South Plains Financial Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of META. Palestra Capital Management LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Palestra Capital Management LLC now owns 438,062 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $256,490,000 after buying an additional 54,061 shares in the last quarter. Davidson Kahn Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,787,000. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 16,553 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $9,692,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, Third Point LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Third Point LLC now owns 665,000 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $389,364,000 after purchasing an additional 120,000 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META stock traded up $24.81 on Friday, reaching $597.02. 24,702,127 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,463,489. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $575.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $603.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.96, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $442.65 and a 12 month high of $740.91.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The business's revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.71 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.19%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $702.24, for a total value of $635,527.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 28,390 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,936,593.60. This trade represents a 3.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $555.54, for a total transaction of $337,768.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 3,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,109,940.92. The trade was a 13.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 237,017 shares of company stock worth $167,207,524 in the last three months. Insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. One equities research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $696.45.

Meta Platforms Company 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.