Peoples Bank KS Sells 40 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Peoples Bank KS trimmed its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,857 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 40 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.2% of Peoples Bank KS’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Peoples Bank KS’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,673,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Range Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 215.6% during the fourth quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 4,649 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,722,000 after acquiring an additional 3,176 shares during the last quarter. One Wealth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,672,000. Norway Savings Bank grew its position in Meta Platforms by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 3,826 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,240,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $94,000. Finally, Bath Savings Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 488 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $617.89 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $591.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $551.33. The company has a market capitalization of $1.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $352.05 and a 1 year high of $638.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. On average, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.32%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $589.97, for a total value of $533,922.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,292 shares in the company, valued at $19,641,281.24. This represents a 2.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total transaction of $407,167.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,414 shares in the company, valued at $1,901,598. The trade was a 17.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 361,640 shares of company stock valued at $219,037,690 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on META. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $583.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $670.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Hsbc Global Res raised Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $719.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $675.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, November 25th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $645.80.

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.