Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by JNBA Financial Advisors

JNBA Financial Advisors lowered its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,004 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 27 shares during the quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors’ holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,173,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Cordant Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $683.62 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $414.50 and a one year high of $740.91. The company has a market cap of $1.73 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $647.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $591.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.31%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given 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, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $719.26.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,060 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 5,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,785,747.13. This represents a 49.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 shares were sold at an average price of $607.97, for a total value of $21,838,890.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 810,217 shares of company stock valued at $523,808,864. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.