Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by Meridian Wealth Management LLC

Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 15.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,966 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,071 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 0.9% of Meridian Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Meridian Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $18,131,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 17.9% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $946,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 6.2% in the third quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,490 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,998,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 21,522 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $12,320,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 49,214 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $28,172,000 after purchasing an additional 5,799 shares during the period. Finally, Umpqua Bank increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 781 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ META opened at $625.66 on Monday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $414.50 and a 12 month high of $740.91. The company has a market capitalization of $1.59 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $656.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $600.95.

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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 the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Arete Research upgraded shares of Meta Platforms to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $583.00 to $627.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $719.26.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.56, for a total value of $260,008.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 18,340 shares in the company, valued at $11,546,130.40. This represents a 2.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.00, for a total transaction of $559,290.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 35,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,019,340. This represents a 2.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 761,907 shares of company stock worth $496,008,888. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Company 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.

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