Northwest Bank & Trust Co Takes Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Northwest Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 8,802 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,115,000. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.8% of Northwest Bank & Trust Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 183,244,796 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $55,011,920,000 after purchasing an additional 1,733,182 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 130,809,908 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $39,270,443,000 after buying an additional 5,001,647 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,054,513 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $13,469,906,000 after acquiring an additional 927,491 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 36,277,772 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,890,950,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,978 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,738,470 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $12,296,383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,719 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $504.16. The stock had a trading volume of 10,243,347 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,607,878. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market capitalization of $1.28 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50-day moving average is $480.39 and its 200 day moving average is $442.26. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $271.42 and a 12-month high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on META. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $545.00 target price (down from $600.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.41.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 31,493 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.32, for a total value of $15,756,577.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total value of $4,223,529.35. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,190,573. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 31,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.32, for a total value of $15,756,577.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 437,528 shares of company stock worth $215,768,262 in the last ninety days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.