Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by NorthRock Partners LLC

NorthRock Partners LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 176.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,062 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 20,454 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 0.6% of NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $18,772,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Valley Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Valley Financial Group Inc. now owns 588 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $960,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,873 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,097,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC now owns 481 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Riverwater Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 572 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Arete Research upgraded shares of Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Argus set a $775.00 target price on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $740.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $696.45.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $656.03 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $442.65 and a 52 week high of $740.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.66 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.43, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $569.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $605.57.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $592.52, for a total transaction of $545,710.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 25,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,201,693.12. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 51,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,154,349.31. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 99,324 shares of company stock valued at $68,637,452. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.