US Bancorp DE Boosts Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 845,308 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,182 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $483,889,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,269 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,587,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Edge Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth $270,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 48.8% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 49,191 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $23,886,000 after buying an additional 16,138 shares during the period. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 234.1% during the 1st quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,723 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,236,000 after purchasing an additional 6,112 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $22,878,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $4,714,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,579 shares in the company, valued at $39,285,234.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $4,714,502.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 74,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,285,234.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 420 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.17, for a total value of $252,071.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 518,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $310,890,460.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 251,092 shares of company stock worth $132,865,496. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $567.16 on Monday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $308.33 and a 12-month high of $602.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.43 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $555.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $513.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.84 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 9.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $605.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $811.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.10.

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.