Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Position Cut by Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC

Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 51,588 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 7,801 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 2.4% of Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $30,206,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in META. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Cordant Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $531.22, for a total transaction of $489,253.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 28,419 shares in the company, valued at $15,096,741.18. This represents a 3.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $3,466,769.02. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,422,186.45. This trade represents a 18.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 343,068 shares of company stock worth $237,676,335. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $520.79 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $414.50 and a 12-month high of $740.91. The firm has a market cap of $1.32 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50-day moving average is $594.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $605.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.33 EPS. Research analysts expect 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 was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $786.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $655.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Argus set a $775.00 price objective on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $676.55.

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.