Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by Waldron Private Wealth LLC

Waldron Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,030 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $15,826,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 32.5% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 457,092 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $261,680,000 after acquiring an additional 112,047 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.6% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 445,052 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $254,766,000 after acquiring an additional 27,453 shares in the last quarter. Kure Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth about $204,000. Greenfield Savings Bank lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the third quarter. Greenfield Savings Bank now owns 5,954 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,408,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verde Servicos Internacionais S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth about $17,032,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total transaction 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 represents a 17.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.97, for a total transaction of $21,838,890.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 673,878 shares of company stock valued at $416,269,904. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.0 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $704.19 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.78 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The company’s 50-day moving average is $618.86 and its 200-day moving average is $570.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $414.50 and a fifty-two week high of $710.79.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $5.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 25.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on META. Arete Research upgraded Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Benchmark raised Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $820.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $710.83.

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.