Brookstone Capital Management Increases Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,881 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,523 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $30,377,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. JDM Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth about $49,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META traded down $12.23 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $603.63. 4,365,523 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,967,252. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $593.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $553.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.52 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.19. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $358.61 and a 1-year high of $638.40.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total value of $407,167.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,901,598. This trade represents a 17.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.55, for a total transaction of $571,552.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,010 shares in the company, valued at $20,215,915.50. This represents a 2.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 411,357 shares of company stock valued at $249,545,428 in the last ninety days. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $670.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $647.98.

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.