Physicians Financial Services Inc. Has $7.58 Million Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Physicians Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,943 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 2.3% of Physicians Financial Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Physicians Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $7,578,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,384 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,738,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Grove Street Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $278,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI raised its position in Meta Platforms by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 3,401 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,991,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. Compass Capital Corp MA ADV acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $3,087,000. Finally, Summerhill Capital Management lnc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $7,580,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.49, for a total transaction of $238,503.37. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 19,166 shares in the company, valued at $11,068,173.34. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $665.75, for a total transaction of $613,155.75. Following the sale, the insider now owns 34,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,212,039.50. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 813,951 shares of company stock worth $526,565,232 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $658.24 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $651.52 and its 200-day moving average is $595.06. The stock has a market cap of $1.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $414.50 and a twelve month high of $740.91. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share 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 38.17%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.33 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.32%. This is a boost from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $811.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two research 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $719.26.

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.