Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC

SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,216 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,083 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 0.8% of SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,411,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ellsworth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 1,176 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,835,000. Sandbox Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 49.3% in the 4th quarter. Sandbox Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,940 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 971 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 99,689 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $35,286,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 736 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.55, for a total transaction of $198,977.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,984 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,001,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 1,064 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.51, for a total transaction of $374,006.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.55, for a total transaction of $198,977.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,984 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,001,725.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,504,435 shares of company stock worth $703,629,367. Insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $440.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $465.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $470.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $415.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $496.35.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META traded down $8.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $485.58. 15,212,764 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,086,339. The company has a quick ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.24 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $202.54 and a one year high of $523.57. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $467.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $376.07.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 29.48% and a net margin of 28.98%. The company had revenue of $40.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 19.94 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.42%.

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.