Hilltop National Bank Purchases 571 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Hilltop National Bank raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 15.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,178 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 571 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,687,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,725 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,523,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,080 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $632,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 84.4% during the 4th quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 18,489 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $11,424,000 after purchasing an additional 8,464 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock traded up $4.74 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $615.46. 7,375,008 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,297,995. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $592.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $552.16. The company has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $358.61 and a 12-month high of $638.40.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.32%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 9.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Pivotal Research upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $646.90.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the firm’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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $589.97, for a total value of $533,922.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,641,281.24. The trade was a 2.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 410,536 shares of company stock valued at $249,024,275 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Company 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.