Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by Argent Trust Co

Argent Trust Co raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,148 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,176 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 1.3% of Argent Trust Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $31,119,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $19,949,512,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 78,471.1% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,248,763 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,658,713,000 after buying an additional 6,240,810 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $2,243,603,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 27.0% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,901,521 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,211,967,000 after purchasing an additional 1,892,509 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,198,005 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $111,948,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502,553 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 4.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ META traded down $24.14 on Thursday, reaching $561.63. 2,447,720 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,631,303. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $414.50 and a 12 month high of $740.91. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $634.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $609.40. The company has a market cap of $1.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 8.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.18, for a total transaction of $296,813.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,744,547.96. This trade represents a 9.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $615.41, for a total transaction of $7,984,944.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 381,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $234,649,678.90. This trade represents a 3.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 499,507 shares of company stock worth $334,165,387. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $675.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Two equities research 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $704.62.

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.