Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Bought by New Hampshire Trust

New Hampshire Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 10,210 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 209 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.2% of New Hampshire Trust’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. New Hampshire Trust’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 80.4% in the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.75, for a total value of $208,369.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,061,678.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.75, for a total value of $208,369.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,061,678.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $503.34, for a total value of $8,406,784.68. Following the transaction, 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 90 days, insiders have sold 313,169 shares of company stock valued at $153,344,736. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on META shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Wolfe Research decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $545.00 target price (down from $600.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $480.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.05.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $501.70 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $479.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $445.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.68. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $274.38 and a 12 month high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

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.