Heck Capital Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 3,049 Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,049 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,785,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 58,218 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,087,000 after acquiring an additional 808 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 140,585 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $82,314,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,827,565 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $7,915,451,000 after purchasing an additional 118,298 shares in the last quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 111.4% in the third quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,679 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,686,000 after purchasing an additional 6,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the third quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 9,735 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,573,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of several recent research reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $710.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total value of $407,167.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,414 shares in the company, valued at $1,901,598. This trade represents a 17.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 7,296 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $553.48, for a total transaction of $4,038,190.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,695 shares in the company, valued at $21,416,908.60. The trade was a 15.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 673,878 shares of company stock valued at $416,269,904. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $704.19 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $618.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $570.21. The company has a market cap of $1.78 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.44, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $414.50 and a 12-month high of $710.79.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.33 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 25.94 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.36%.

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.