Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ reduced its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,134,162 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 184,101 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 3.0% of Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $670,290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Cordant Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $70,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on META. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $583.00 to $627.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $719.26.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $607.60 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $658.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $603.80. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $414.50 and a 12-month high of $740.91. The firm has a market cap of $1.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.40, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.33 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.00, for a total transaction of $243,670.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 17,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,576,930. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $626.66, for a total value of $567,127.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,725 shares in the company, valued at $21,760,768.50. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 654,355 shares of company stock valued at $428,564,164 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.