Zions Bancorporation N.A. Purchases 3,575 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 13.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,347 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,575 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.2% of Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $16,799,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Central Valley Advisors LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the third quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 5,714 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,271,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,841 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,199,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the third quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,595,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the third quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 1,906 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,099,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,038,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total value of $17,101,342.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.38, for a total transaction of $478,183.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 40,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,416,298.16. This represents a 2.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 141,498 shares of company stock valued at $75,732,154. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 4.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $554.08 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market cap of $1.40 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $313.66 and a 52 week high of $602.95. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $568.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $521.17.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 9.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on META shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $719.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Loop Capital increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Mizuho raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.10.

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.