Clearstead Trust LLC Acquires 3,636 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Clearstead Trust LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 394.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,558 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,636 shares during the quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,613,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SYM FINANCIAL Corp lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 2,727 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $965,000 after acquiring an additional 667 shares during the last quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 105.3% in the 4th quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,225 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,203,000 after purchasing an additional 3,193 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 9,058 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,206,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 322,371 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $111,391,000 after buying an additional 1,542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forte Capital LLC ADV raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 3,341 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,183,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $375.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $545.00 price objective (down from $600.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Raymond James decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $525.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.80.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.3 %

NASDAQ META traded up $10.28 on Friday, reaching $451.96. The company had a trading volume of 16,489,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,698,000. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.15 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s fifty day moving average is $490.72 and its 200 day moving average is $408.34. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $229.85 and a 52-week high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total transaction of $3,803,278.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 18,432 shares in the company, valued at $8,723,496.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $431.05, for a total value of $252,164.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,794,965.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total value of $3,803,278.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 18,432 shares in the company, valued at $8,723,496.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,257,876 shares of company stock valued at $613,168,252. 13.71% of the stock is owned by 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.