Blue Trust Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Blue Trust Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 47.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,457 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 11,193 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $7,294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 457,092 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $261,680,000 after buying an additional 112,047 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $946,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,543 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $883,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Waterway Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 146.1% in the 3rd quarter. Waterway Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,137 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $651,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV now owns 1,095 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $627,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $6,300,738.51. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,154,349.31. This represents a 14.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.77, for a total transaction of $232,424.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 19,579 shares in the company, valued at $11,018,473.83. The trade was a 2.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 810,217 shares of company stock valued at $523,808,864. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $694.84 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $414.50 and a 52-week high of $740.91. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $645.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $589.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.76 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.05, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the company earned $5.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.30%. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $753.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $717.90.

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.