Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stake Raised by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,445,565 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 2,787,832 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.9% of Northern Trust Corp's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.93% of Meta Platforms worth $13,727,613,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $946,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,368,361 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,928,185,000 after acquiring an additional 204,412 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 9.1% during the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 3,219 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,842,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the third quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 2,853 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,633,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 9.5% during the third quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 17,048 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $9,704,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $547.27 on Monday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $427.11 and a 12-month high of $740.91. The company has a market cap of $1.39 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.88, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company's 50-day moving average price is $587.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $604.68.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business earned $5.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. This is a boost from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 8.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $666.00, for a total transaction of $602,730.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,295 shares in the company, valued at $19,510,470. This trade represents a 3.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 406 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.69, for a total transaction of $199,626.14. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 4,608 shares in the company, valued at $2,265,707.52. The trade was a 8.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 285,289 shares of company stock worth $200,201,352. Insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Barclays raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $705.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Argus set a $775.00 price objective on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Pivotal Research increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned 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 $679.02.

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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