Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Acquired by Umpqua Bank

Umpqua Bank raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 318.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,265 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,484 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of META. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $596.25 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $655.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $606.39. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $414.50 and a 52 week high of $740.91. The company has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.93, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $5.33 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on META shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $736.00 to $786.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Arete Research upgraded shares of Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Argus set a $775.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $718.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $589.16, for a total transaction of $243,323.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 17,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,318,548.24. This represents a 2.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.25, for a total transaction of $552,830.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,269,825.75. This represents a 2.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 622,431 shares of company stock valued at $408,968,491 over the last ninety days. Corporate 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.