Webster Bank N. A. Decreases Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Webster Bank N. A. lowered its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,165 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 157 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.0% of Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $9,465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in META. Creekside Partners acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $327,000. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.4% during the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 20,112 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,141,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 75.1% in the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 23,244 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $11,720,000 after buying an additional 9,972 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $2,925,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $687.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. The company has a market capitalization of $1.73 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $611.00 and a 200-day moving average of $564.44. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $387.10 and a one year high of $710.79.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 9.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $567.70, for a total value of $511,497.70. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,581 shares in the company, valued at $17,360,833.70. This represents a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.16, for a total transaction of $2,918,698.12. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 8,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,943,375.40. This represents a 37.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 661,804 shares of company stock valued at $407,745,741 in the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Benchmark raised shares of Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $820.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $630.00 to $705.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $706.76.

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.