34,823 Shares in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Bought by Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.

Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. bought a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Get Rating) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 34,823 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,191,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of META. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth $66,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,244,201 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $499,020,000 after buying an additional 249,926 shares in the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 284.0% in the 1st quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $746,000 after buying an additional 2,482 shares in the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth $813,000. Finally, Oxford Financial Group Ltd. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 26.9% in the 1st quarter. Oxford Financial Group Ltd. now owns 1,888 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $420,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 60.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 393 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.25, for a total transaction of $73,589.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,793,327.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CAO Susan J.S. Taylor sold 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.96, for a total transaction of $242,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $510,059.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.25, for a total value of $73,589.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,793,327.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 68,342 shares of company stock valued at $12,285,012. 14.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $275.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 14th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, March 8th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $130.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $215.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, thirty-six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.27.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 4.5 %

META stock traded down $9.32 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $195.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 50,141,098 shares, compared to its average volume of 29,073,796. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $88.09 and a 1 year high of $236.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.20. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $507.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.18.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.88. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 21.23% and a net margin of 19.90%. The business had revenue of $32.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.67 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 10.38 EPS for the current year.

About Meta Platforms

(Get Rating)

Meta Platforms, Inc, engages in the development of social media applications. It builds technology that helps people connect, find communities, and grow businesses. It operates through the Family of Apps (FoA) and Reality Labs (RL) segments. The FoA segment consists of Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and other services.