Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is Crestwood Advisors Group LLC’s 8th Largest Position

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 66.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 182,504 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 73,144 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 2.0% of Crestwood Advisors Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $106,858,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Seelaus Asset Management LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Meredith Wealth Planning boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,873 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,097,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 317 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. VeraBank N.A. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,954 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindenwold Advisors INC grew its stake 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 valued at $3,388,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Argus set a $775.00 price objective on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $736.00 to $786.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $719.26.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META stock opened at $668.20 on Monday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $414.50 and a twelve month high of $740.91. The firm has a market cap of $1.69 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.93, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $653.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $597.08. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm posted $5.33 EPS. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,060 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $3,727,550.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 5,139 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,747.13. This represents a 49.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $6,300,738.51. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,154,349.31. This represents a 14.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 813,538 shares of company stock worth $526,326,729. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

About Meta Platforms

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.