First National Bank of Hutchinson Reduces Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

First National Bank of Hutchinson trimmed its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,196 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 467 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.6% of First National Bank of Hutchinson’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. First National Bank of Hutchinson’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,402,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 187,180,393 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $90,891,055,000 after purchasing an additional 831,047 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,299,316 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $18,597,382,000 after buying an additional 244,803 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $16,799,612,000 after buying an additional 4,379,826 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 13,867,398 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,733,731,000 after buying an additional 2,748,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GQG Partners LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.1% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 11,497,335 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,582,876,000 after acquiring an additional 342,742 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $573.25 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $279.40 and a 52-week high of $602.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.93, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $551.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $510.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.23 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on META. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $636.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $670.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $475.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $560.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $621.63.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $4,714,502.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 approximately $39,285,234.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $521.48, for a total value of $214,849.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,684,057.56. 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 quarter, insiders sold 250,817 shares of company stock worth $132,547,715. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Profile

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.