Oakworth Capital Inc. Increases Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 40.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,056 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $618,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of META. McHugh Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $583,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $213,000. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 7,452 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,406,000 after purchasing an additional 1,173 shares during the last quarter. Geneva Partners LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Geneva Partners LLC now owns 18,877 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $11,053,000 after buying an additional 1,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elm3 Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $351,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $719.80 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $414.50 and a 1-year high of $725.01. The company has a market capitalization of $1.82 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The business has a 50-day moving average of $631.85 and a 200-day moving average of $578.74.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.28%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.36%.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.16, for a total transaction of $2,918,698.12. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 8,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,943,375.40. This trade represents a 37.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,644 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $553.55, for a total value of $10,320,386.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,888,979.95. This trade represents a 28.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 756,735 shares of company stock worth $475,285,232. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 27th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark raised shares of Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $820.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $750.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $717.90.

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.