Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Bought by CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 989,825 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,767 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.1% of CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $604,506,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JDM Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 4.3 %

NASDAQ:META opened at $576.74 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $655.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $609.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.11, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $414.50 and a 1-year high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $688.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Argus set a $775.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $718.31.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $627.05, for a total transaction of $577,513.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 31,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,552,673.10. This trade represents a 2.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $589.16, for a total value of $243,323.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 17,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,318,548.24. The trade was a 2.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 584,823 shares of company stock worth $386,274,777 in the last ninety days. Corporate 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.