Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by Clearstead Trust LLC

Clearstead Trust LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 394.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,558 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 3,636 shares during the quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,613,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 451,581 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $159,841,000 after acquiring an additional 32,423 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Stockton grew its position in Meta Platforms by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 4,743 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,819,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Signify Wealth purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $228,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 223,788 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $79,212,000 after buying an additional 4,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 10,962 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,880,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $470.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.80.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 34,398 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.52, for a total value of $15,737,772.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 34,398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.52, for a total transaction of $15,737,772.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $431.05, for a total value of $252,164.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,643 shares in the company, valued at $15,794,965.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,257,876 shares of company stock valued at $613,168,252. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.3 %

Meta Platforms stock traded up $10.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $451.96. 16,489,057 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,698,000. The company has a fifty day moving average of $490.72 and a 200-day moving average of $408.34. The company has a market cap of $1.15 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $229.85 and a twelve month high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.1 EPS for the current year.

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.