Ballast Advisors LLC Has $1.26 Million Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Ballast Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 22.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,547 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 643 shares during the quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,255,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Stone House Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 625.0% during 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 during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 68.9% during 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 during the period. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 65.2% during the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 109 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total transaction of $3,803,278.08. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 18,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,723,496.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total transaction of $305,370.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 38,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,043,756. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,036 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.28, for a total transaction of $3,803,278.08. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 18,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,723,496.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,460,035 shares of company stock worth $691,937,607. 14.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded down $2.82 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $509.08. 4,047,694 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,115,051. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 2.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $491.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $393.22. The company has a market cap of $1.30 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $207.13 and a 12 month high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 28.98% and a return on equity of 29.48%. The business had revenue of $40.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 13.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $425.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $375.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $420.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $505.75.

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.