Sterling Financial Planning Inc. Sells 93 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Sterling Financial Planning Inc. reduced its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,637 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 93 shares during the period. Sterling Financial Planning Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $579,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the third 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 bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on META shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Guggenheim upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $380.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $410.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $519.53.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $385.00, for a total value of $217,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 35,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,585,110. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 2,025 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total value of $958,392.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,757,883.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $385.00, for a total value of $217,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 35,286 shares in the company, valued at $13,585,110. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,421,182 shares of company stock valued at $677,574,550 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.5 %

META stock traded down $12.66 during trading on Friday, hitting $489.14. 7,468,667 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,915,494. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $207.13 and a 1 year high of $531.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 2.67. The company has a 50-day moving average of $494.29 and a 200-day moving average of $397.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.25 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $5.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $40.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.12 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 29.48% and a net margin of 28.98%. The business’s revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.00 EPS. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.42%.

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.