Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is Smith Salley Wealth Management’s 6th Largest Position

Smith Salley Wealth Management lifted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 81,015 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,233 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 3.0% of Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $47,435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fiera Capital Corp grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 35.1% during the 2nd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 27,272 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $13,751,000 after acquiring an additional 7,089 shares during the period. Elite Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 16.8% during the 2nd quarter. Elite Wealth Management Inc. now owns 27,736 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $13,985,000 after buying an additional 3,981 shares in the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 68.5% during the second quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 99,633 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $50,237,000 after acquiring an additional 40,504 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 12.3% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 165,105 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $83,250,000 after acquiring an additional 18,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.9% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 265,756 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $133,999,000 after purchasing an additional 14,831 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 7,296 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $553.48, for a total value of $4,038,190.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 38,695 shares in the company, valued at $21,416,908.60. This trade represents a 15.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total value of $407,167.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,901,598. The trade was a 17.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 495,269 shares of company stock valued at $300,888,396. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.2 %

META stock opened at $612.77 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $597.37 and its 200 day moving average is $557.77. The firm has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $370.95 and a one year high of $638.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $670.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $665.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $650.05.

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.