Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by Colonial Trust Advisors

Colonial Trust Advisors increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,439 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Advisors’ holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $10,796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Cordant Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on META. Bank of America lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $765.00 to $640.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Pivotal Research boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $583.00 to $627.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $708.55.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 14.8 %

META opened at $585.77 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $414.50 and a fifty-two week high of $740.91. The business has a 50-day moving average of $634.58 and a 200-day moving average of $609.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The company has a market capitalization of $1.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share 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 posted $5.33 earnings per share. 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 was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.78%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $677.71, for a total value of $13,554,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 308,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,199,589.06. This trade represents a 6.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $615.41, for a total value of $7,984,944.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 381,290 shares in the company, valued at $234,649,678.90. The trade was a 3.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 499,507 shares of company stock valued at $334,165,387. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms 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.