Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by First Financial Corp IN

First Financial Corp IN decreased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,278 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 82 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 0.9% of First Financial Corp IN’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. First Financial Corp IN’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,919,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. JDM Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Halpern Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.2 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $608.33 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $594.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $554.18. The stock has a market cap of $1.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $358.61 and a 1-year high of $638.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 9.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on META shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $605.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $636.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Two 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $650.05.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 7,296 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $553.48, for a total transaction of $4,038,190.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 38,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,416,908.60. This trade represents a 15.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total value of $407,167.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,414 shares in the company, valued at $1,901,598. This trade represents a 17.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 423,427 shares of company stock worth $256,996,450. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.