Simmons Bank Purchases 1,006 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Simmons Bank increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,998 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 1,006 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 0.9% of Simmons Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $10,618,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 80.4% during the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 68.9% during the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 65.2% in the 3rd quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 109 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 97,093 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.67, for a total value of $45,601,669.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $445.93, for a total value of $218,505.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 6,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,724,186.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 97,093 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.67, for a total transaction of $45,601,669.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,223,416 shares of company stock valued at $597,392,856 in the last quarter. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Guggenheim cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $509.80.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded up $3.97 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $472.21. 9,105,946 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,190,977. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $230.72 and a 52-week high of $531.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $490.03 and a 200 day moving average of $411.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.68. The company has a market cap of $1.20 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.21.

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

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.