HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Takes Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 43,177 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,283,000. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.2% of HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 68.9% during the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 80.4% in the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $507.00, for a total transaction of $248,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 9,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,587,843. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,058 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total value of $2,386,617.30. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,272,152.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $507.00, for a total value of $248,430.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 9,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,587,843. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 391,071 shares of company stock valued at $192,834,857 over the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on META. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $480.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.41.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $499.49 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $274.38 and a 1-year high of $531.49. The company has a 50-day moving average of $480.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $444.30. The company has a market cap of $1.27 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

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.