Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Holdings Cut by American Trust Investment Advisors LLC

American Trust Investment Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,165 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 352 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 2.9% of American Trust Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. American Trust Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $7,123,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $19,949,512,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 78,471.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,248,763 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,658,713,000 after purchasing an additional 6,240,810 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,243,603,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,445,565 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $13,727,613,000 after buying an additional 2,787,832 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 27.0% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,901,521 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,211,967,000 after buying an additional 1,892,509 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $597.02 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $575.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $603.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $442.65 and a 12-month high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.71 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.19%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $696.23, for a total transaction of $9,033,584.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 197,996 shares in the company, valued at $137,850,755.08. This trade represents a 6.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $676.00, for a total value of $279,188.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,443,524. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 237,017 shares of company stock worth $167,207,524. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on META shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $750.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $696.45.

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.