Bank of Marin Grows Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Bank of Marin raised its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,595 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Bank of Marin’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $913,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Central Valley Advisors LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the third quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 5,714 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,271,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,841 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,199,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 1,906 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,099,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,038,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.52, for a total transaction of $11,150,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 338,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $188,810,838.24. This represents a 5.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.24, for a total value of $8,906,174.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,838 shares in the company, valued at $15,377,575.12. The trade was a 36.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 140,593 shares of company stock valued at $75,253,970. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META stock opened at $554.40 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.40 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $569.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $521.96. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $313.66 and a 52 week high of $602.95.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 9.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Truist Financial increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.10.

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.