Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC Buys 635 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,754 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 635 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.6% of Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $21,520,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JDM Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 420 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.17, for a total value of $252,071.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 518,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $310,890,460.68. This represents a 0.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.00, for a total transaction of $559,290.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,663,600. This trade represents a 2.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 568,016 shares of company stock valued at $346,031,180. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ META traded up $11.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $647.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 19,039,689 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,840,293. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $385.66 and a 12 month high of $652.00. The stock has a market cap of $1.63 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $601.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $560.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.31%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $654.20.

About Meta Platforms

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.