Webster Bank N. A. Sells 421 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Webster Bank N. A. reduced its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,322 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 421 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.0% of Webster Bank N. A.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $9,343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,597,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $16,799,612,000 after purchasing an additional 4,379,826 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 186,349,346 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $65,960,215,000 after purchasing an additional 3,104,550 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 24.7% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 13,867,398 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,733,731,000 after buying an additional 2,748,620 shares during the period. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at about $595,152,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth about $515,383,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock traded up $6.12 on Friday, reaching $589.95. The stock had a trading volume of 8,587,051 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,361,877. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $279.40 and a 1 year high of $602.95. The stock has a market cap of $1.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $538.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $505.59.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.37 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on META. TD Cowen raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $660.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $609.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total transaction of $75,073.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,254,449.63. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $4,714,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 74,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,285,234.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total value of $75,073.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,254,449.63. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 252,443 shares of company stock valued at $133,105,284 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms 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.