Bowman & Co S.C. Increases Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Bowman & Co S.C. boosted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,722 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 231 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.1% of Bowman & Co S.C.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Bowman & Co S.C.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lindenwold Advisors INC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 5,918 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,388,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $625,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Central Valley Advisors LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the third quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 5,714 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,271,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,841 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,199,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Pivotal Research lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $605.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned 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 $650.05.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.2 %

META opened at $612.77 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $597.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $557.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73. The stock has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $370.95 and a 12 month high of $638.40.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. As a group, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.33%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 9.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $604.54, for a total transaction of $547,108.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 31,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,804,216.70. This trade represents a 2.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 1,131 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.16, for a total transaction of $652,767.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,229 shares in the company, valued at $709,329.64. The trade was a 47.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 495,269 shares of company stock worth $300,888,396 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.