Camden National Bank Sells 64 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Camden National Bank reduced its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 807 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 64 shares during the period. Camden National Bank’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $473,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Cordant Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $70,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $619.56 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $658.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $602.08. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $414.50 and a 1 year high of $740.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $622.24, for a total value of $22,351,483.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $626.66, for a total transaction of $567,127.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 a total of 725,689 shares of company stock worth $473,072,897 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $770.00 price target (up previously from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $753.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $820.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $688.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $719.26.

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.