Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Iowa State Bank

Iowa State Bank reduced its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,487 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 2,851 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.6% of Iowa State Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Iowa State Bank’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $8,436,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 3,506 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,587,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Pachira Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Pachira Investments Inc. now owns 488 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the second quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 2,223 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Trust Co of the South increased its position in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the third quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 1,850 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vista Capital Partners Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $794,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total transaction of $365,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,476,894.45. The trade was a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,690 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.31, for a total transaction of $6,935,793.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 2,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,432,843.65. This trade represents a 82.88% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 40,458 shares of company stock worth $25,436,200 over the last three months. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.5%

NASDAQ META opened at $657.15 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 1.98. The firm has a market cap of $1.66 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.03, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $663.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $707.81. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $479.80 and a one year high of $796.25.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $837.00 to $802.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $810.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Benchmark cut Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $870.00 price objective (down from $900.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $825.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $819.46.

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.