First Bancorp Inc ME Sells 30 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

First Bancorp Inc ME decreased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 784 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 30 shares during the quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $449,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $36,600,000 after buying an additional 5,953 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 6,101,501 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,962,767,000 after purchasing an additional 748,076 shares during the period. ERn Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 59.0% in the 1st quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $802,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 26.5% during the second quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 1,678 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $846,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the period. Finally, Lincoln National Corp increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 7.8% in the first quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 34,790 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $16,894,000 after purchasing an additional 2,504 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $576.47 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.11, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $546.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $508.77. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $279.40 and a twelve month high of $602.95.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Pivotal Research started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $780.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $585.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $617.37.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total value of $295,569.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 518,508 shares in the company, valued at $311,493,681. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 492 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.75, for a total transaction of $295,569.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 518,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $311,493,681. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $589.97, for a total value of $533,922.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,641,281.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 250,816 shares of company stock valued at $132,421,828 over the last 90 days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.