Lincoln National Corp Sells 309 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Lincoln National Corp lowered its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 32,286 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 309 shares during the period. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $11,428,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fielder Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $677,000. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 18,491 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,545,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 171,909 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $60,849,000 after purchasing an additional 1,632 shares in the last quarter. Gavilan Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Gavilan Investment Partners LLC now owns 91,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $32,210,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 11,798 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,176,000 after purchasing an additional 1,975 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.5 %

META stock traded up $2.56 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $468.24. 13,344,708 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,297,990. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $490.40 and its 200 day moving average is $410.65. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $230.27 and a twelve month high of $531.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market cap of $1.19 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $431.05, for a total transaction of $252,164.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,794,965.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 2,025 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total value of $958,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,757,883.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $431.05, for a total transaction of $252,164.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,643 shares in the company, valued at $15,794,965.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,222,926 shares of company stock valued at $597,174,351. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $540.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $527.00 to $588.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.80.

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.