Lincoln National Corp Reduces Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Lincoln National Corp decreased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,286 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 309 shares during the quarter. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $11,428,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of META. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 80.4% in the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 68.9% in the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 65.2% during the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 109 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $431.05, for a total transaction of $252,164.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 36,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,794,965.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $517.75, for a total value of $253,697.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,924,027.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $431.05, for a total transaction of $252,164.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 36,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,794,965.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,222,926 shares of company stock worth $597,174,351 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ META traded up $2.56 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $468.24. 13,344,708 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,297,990. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.19 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.87, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $230.27 and a 12 month high of $531.49. The company has a 50 day moving average of $490.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $410.65.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on META shares. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of 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. Barclays reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $480.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.80.

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.