Argent Advisors Inc. Purchases Shares of 659 Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Argent Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 659 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $386,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Seelaus Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $960,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,873 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC now owns 481 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 317 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VeraBank N.A. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,954 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,144,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

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Meta Platforms Stock Up 3.9 %

META traded up $23.30 on Monday, hitting $619.55. The company had a trading volume of 15,714,384 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,812,127. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.57 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $655.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $606.39. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $414.50 and a 12-month high of $740.91. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 in the prior year, the company posted $5.33 EPS. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $604.46, for a total transaction of $21,712,807.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 17,514 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,318,548.24. The trade was a 2.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 622,431 shares of company stock worth $408,968,491. Insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several recent research reports. Tigress Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $800.00 price objective (up from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $770.00 target price (up previously from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $718.31.

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.