Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,543 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 540 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Peterson Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $520,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Edge Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Edge Wealth Management LLC now owns 730 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 736 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,602 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Courier Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $652,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $420.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $405.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $496.35.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded down $8.28 on Friday, reaching $485.58. 15,212,764 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,086,339. The company has a fifty day moving average of $467.03 and a 200-day moving average of $376.07. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $202.54 and a twelve month high of $523.57. The company has a market capitalization of $1.24 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.59, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 28.98% and a return on equity of 29.48%. The firm had revenue of $40.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.00 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 19.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 13.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 10,956 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total transaction of $5,185,255.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 76,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,157,645.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total value of $3,803,278.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 18,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,723,496.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 10,956 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total transaction of $5,185,255.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 76,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,157,645.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,504,435 shares of company stock worth $703,629,367. Corporate insiders own 13.75% 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.