Bank of Hawaii Sells 244 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Bank of Hawaii cut its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 21,280 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 244 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 0.7% of Bank of Hawaii’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Bank of Hawaii’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $12,460,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Cordant Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 14.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $585.77 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $414.50 and a 52-week high of $740.91. The business has a fifty day moving average of $634.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $609.40. The stock has a market cap of $1.48 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.49, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.33 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $800.00 target price (up from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $688.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $770.00 target price (up from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $708.55.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.18, for a total value of $296,813.44. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,744,547.96. This trade represents a 9.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $604.54, for a total value of $547,108.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 31,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,804,216.70. This represents a 2.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 499,507 shares of company stock worth $334,165,387. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.