Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Private Trust Co. NA

Private Trust Co. NA reduced its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,125 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 315 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,916,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Elite Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 53.0% during the 1st quarter. Elite Wealth Management Inc. now owns 23,755 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $11,535,000 after purchasing an additional 8,231 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 18.6% during the 1st quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,447 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010 shares in the last quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 19,945 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $9,685,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 32,010 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $15,543,000 after acquiring an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 179.4% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 3,752 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,822,000 after acquiring an additional 2,409 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.4 %

META stock traded down $2.00 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $465.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,731,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,531,096. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $244.95 and a 52-week high of $531.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.18 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.75, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $484.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $424.15.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $36.46 billion during 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Wolfe Research decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.80.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 77,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $486.18, for a total value of $37,636,166.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 77,412 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $486.18, for a total value of $37,636,166.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,058 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total transaction of $2,386,617.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at $7,272,152.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 918,449 shares of company stock valued at $454,175,035. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Company 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.