Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Godsey & Gibb Inc.

Godsey & Gibb Inc. lessened its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,083 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 29 shares during the period. Godsey & Gibb Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 57,001.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,517,111 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,447,975,000 after buying an additional 9,500,444 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 61,769.3% in the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 4,132,870 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,365,820,000 after acquiring an additional 4,126,190 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 4,658.5% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 909,548 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $520,662,000 after acquiring an additional 890,434 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 48,160,608 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $27,470,870,000 after acquiring an additional 698,884 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in Meta Platforms by 926.6% in the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 733,358 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $369,774,000 after purchasing an additional 661,923 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.70, for a total value of $520,103.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 32,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,612,808.90. The trade was a 2.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.16, for a total value of $237,128.08. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,147,531.12. This represents a 3.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 496,174 shares of company stock worth $301,408,499 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on META. Truist Financial increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $650.05.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $611.30 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $358.61 and a twelve month high of $638.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $595.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $555.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

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.