Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Acquired by Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 77,001 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,879 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.1% of Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $45,085,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of META. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $946,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in 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 worth $1,928,185,000 after acquiring an additional 204,412 shares during the last quarter. United Bank raised its position in Meta Platforms by 22.2% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 5,569 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,188,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 252.0% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,065 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $2,900,000 after buying an additional 3,626 shares during the period. Finally, Commerce Bank lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.8% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 271,056 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $155,163,000 after buying an additional 4,916 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Pivotal Research raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Argus set a $775.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued 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.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $718.31.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.4 %

NASDAQ:META traded down $15.33 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $610.98. 12,592,026 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,819,908. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $414.50 and a twelve month high of $740.91. The business has a 50-day moving average of $656.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $608.00. The company has a market capitalization of $1.55 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.54, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the business posted $5.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. This is a boost from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 8.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of Meta Platforms 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 $6,300,738.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,793 shares in the company, valued at $38,154,349.31. The trade was a 14.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,311 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.21, for a total transaction of $1,387,085.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 585,605 shares of company stock valued at $386,710,448 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

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.