Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Lowers Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV decreased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,946 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 466 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 0.8% of Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV's portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $10,508,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 457,092 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $261,680,000 after purchasing an additional 112,047 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.9% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $946,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the period. Leo Wealth LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 7,642 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $4,375,000 after acquiring an additional 1,137 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 26,964 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $15,435,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RBA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth about $4,870,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an "overweight" 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 given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $717.90.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $565.30, for a total transaction of $511,596.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 37,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,362,687. The trade was a 2.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.77, for a total value of $232,424.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 19,579 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,018,473.83. This trade represents a 2.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 810,217 shares of company stock worth $523,808,864 in the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.6 %

META stock opened at $683.62 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.73 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.58, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $414.50 and a 1-year high of $740.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $647.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $590.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm earned $5.33 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.66 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.31%. This is an increase from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 8.36%.

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.

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