Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by Arlington Trust Co LLC

Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,430 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Equitable Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 17,831 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,440,000 after acquiring an additional 786 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 5,806 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,399,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 24,181 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $14,158,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the period. Walter & Keenan Wealth Management LLC IN ADV boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Walter & Keenan Wealth Management LLC IN ADV now owns 2,421 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,418,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSR Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,699,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $565.30, for a total transaction of $511,596.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,362,687. This trade represents a 2.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.77, for a total value of $232,424.01. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 19,579 shares in the company, valued at $11,018,473.83. The trade was a 2.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 751,033 shares of company stock valued at $480,911,671 in the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $736.67 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $638.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $584.28. The company has a market cap of $1.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $414.50 and a fifty-two week high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share 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 company earned $5.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.66 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 8.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $770.00 price objective (up from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. 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 note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.