Park National Corp OH Increases Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Park National Corp OH grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 7.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 62,149 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 4,416 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.4% of Park National Corp OH’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $45,641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 237.5% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 42.6% during the second quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 67 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of a number of research reports. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price target for the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Citizens Jmp restated an “outperform” rating and set a $900.00 price target (up previously from $750.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of Meta Platforms from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $819.46.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META opened at $657.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.66 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The business’s 50-day moving average is $663.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $707.81. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The business had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.03 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $664.16, for a total value of $344,699.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,067,594.40. This trade represents a 1.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $669.63, for a total value of $346,198.71. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 13,751 shares in the company, valued at $9,208,082.13. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 40,458 shares of company stock worth $25,436,200 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

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.