SWP Financial LLC Acquires New Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

SWP Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 1,437 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $509,000. Meta Platforms accounts for 0.4% of SWP Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of META. Madison Wealth Partners Inc boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 1,417 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $502,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 670 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 4,895 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,730,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. American National Bank now owns 1,590 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $563,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WoodTrust Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 1,547 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $548,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $503.34, for a total transaction of $8,406,784.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 275,297 shares in the company, valued at $138,567,991.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $507.00, for a total transaction of $248,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 9,049 shares in the company, valued at $4,587,843. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $503.34, for a total transaction of $8,406,784.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $138,567,991.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 422,564 shares of company stock valued at $208,591,435. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:META opened at $506.63 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $480.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $444.30. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $274.38 and a one year high of $531.49. The company has a market capitalization of $1.29 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.68.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on META. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Raymond James raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Wedbush dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $480.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.41.

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.