Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Bought by American Trust

American Trust lifted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 26.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,368 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 1,346 shares during the quarter. American Trust’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Infusive Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 10.7% during the first quarter. Infusive Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,620 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $13,614,000 after purchasing an additional 2,285 shares in the last quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 4,080 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,011,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.4% in the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 55,431 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $43,790,000 after acquiring an additional 5,224 shares during the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 27.8% in the second quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 176,762 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $130,467,000 after acquiring an additional 38,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.0% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 210,526 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $155,387,000 after acquiring an additional 20,912 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of META stock opened at $647.51 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $479.80 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $1.63 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $664.55 and a 200-day moving average of $707.70.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The company had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.03 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 9.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 726 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.60, for a total transaction of $429,501.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 6,035 shares in the company, valued at $3,570,306. This trade represents a 10.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $669.63, for a total value of $346,198.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 13,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,208,082.13. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 40,458 shares of company stock worth $25,436,200. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $900.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Arete Research set a $718.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $770.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $819.46.

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.