Mechanics Bank Trust Department Boosts Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Mechanics Bank Trust Department grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 9.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 960 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $466,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in META. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $11,285,855,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 11,154.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,952,254 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,752,900,000 after acquiring an additional 4,908,251 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 30,217,175 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,695,722,000 after acquiring an additional 4,440,229 shares in the last quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 111.0% in the fourth quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 7,391,877 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,616,000 after acquiring an additional 3,888,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $65,960,215,000 after acquiring an additional 3,104,550 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META traded up $8.62 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $507.53. 7,312,294 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,524,865. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $274.38 and a 1 year high of $531.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.29 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $478.58 and a 200 day moving average of $450.54.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. On average, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $565.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $545.00 price target (down previously from $600.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $480.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Wolfe Research cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.05, for a total value of $1,029,156.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 253,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,765,650. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.05, for a total value of $1,029,156.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 253,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,765,650. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total value of $4,223,529.35. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 74,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,190,573. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 237,638 shares of company stock worth $115,205,996 in the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.