Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Bought by Whittier Trust Co.

Whittier Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 186,959 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,554 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.4% of Whittier Trust Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $107,022,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth about $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.2 %

META opened at $582.01 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $547.72 and a 200-day moving average of $509.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $279.40 and a 1-year high of $602.95.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,034,122.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $580.65, for a total value of $239,808.45. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 11,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,456,828. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,034,122.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 250,324 shares of company stock worth $132,218,368. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on META shares. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Pivotal Research assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $780.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $619.20.

About Meta Platforms

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.