Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by German American Bancorp Inc.

German American Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,565 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 2.3% of German American Bancorp Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. German American Bancorp Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $21,995,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of META. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $19,949,512,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 78,471.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,248,763 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,658,713,000 after purchasing an additional 6,240,810 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,243,603,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Meta Platforms by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,901,521 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,211,967,000 after purchasing an additional 1,892,509 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,198,005 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $111,948,344,000 after buying an additional 1,502,553 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock traded down $2.72 on Friday, reaching $543.57. 17,619,060 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,764,979. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $414.50 and a twelve month high of $740.91. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $628.35 and a 200-day moving average of $609.11. The firm has a market cap of $1.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.525 dividend. This is an increase from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on META shares. Barclays increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $688.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC restated an "underperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $701.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $543.39, for a total transaction of $500,462.19. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,340 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,943,062.60. This trade represents a 3.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $3,466,769.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 20,935 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,422,186.45. This trade represents a 18.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 487,453 shares of company stock worth $326,680,904. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

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.