Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Busey Bank

Busey Bank cut its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 129,599 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 7,277 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 2.5% of Busey Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Busey Bank’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $75,882,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Stordahl Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $428,000. DMC Group LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. DMC Group LLC now owns 5,565 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,258,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,590,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 113.1% in the fourth quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 65,932 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $38,680,000 after purchasing an additional 34,991 shares during the period. Finally, Enzi Wealth raised its position in Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Enzi Wealth now owns 1,098 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $685,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on META. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Pivotal Research boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $790.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $710.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $666.00, for a total value of $602,730.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,510,470. This trade represents a 3.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total value of $407,167.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,901,598. This represents a 17.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 661,804 shares of company stock worth $407,745,741. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META stock opened at $689.18 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $613.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $567.04. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $387.10 and a 12 month high of $710.79. The company has a market capitalization of $1.74 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 39.74%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 25.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 8.36%.

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.