Johnson Financial Group Inc. Acquires 829 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,428 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 829 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 0.7% of Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $15,816,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of META. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 237.5% in the second quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 42.6% in the second quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 67 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Maseco LLP purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, eCIO Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at about $58,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,690 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.31, for a total transaction of $6,935,793.90. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 2,415 shares in the company, valued at $1,432,843.65. This represents a 82.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $642.22, for a total value of $333,312.18. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,734 shares in the company, valued at $19,737,989.48. The trade was a 1.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 41,959 shares of company stock valued at $26,671,107. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.8%

NASDAQ:META opened at $673.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $673.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $706.04. The company has a market capitalization of $1.70 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $479.80 and a 1-year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The company had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $950.00 to $910.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 target price on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $860.00 to $808.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $920.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $819.43.

Meta Platforms 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.