Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is Smith Salley Wealth Management’s 6th Largest Position

Smith Salley Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:METAFree Report) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 81,015 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,233 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 3.0% of Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $47,435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in META. JDM Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $580.10, for a total value of $524,990.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 31,482 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,262,708.20. This trade represents a 2.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total value of $407,167.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,414 shares in the company, valued at $1,901,598. The trade was a 17.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 495,269 shares of company stock worth $300,888,396 in the last three months. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $612.77 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $597.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $557.77. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $370.95 and a twelve month high of $638.40. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:METAGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $675.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, November 25th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $719.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $650.05.

Read Our Latest Analysis on Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)

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