Apollon Financial LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Apollon Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 49.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,203 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 724 shares during the quarter. Apollon Financial LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META traded up $2.87 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $704.28. 12,743,944 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,336,421. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.77 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 2.66. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $442.65 and a 52 week high of $747.90. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $686.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $637.97.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 39.11%. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.71 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on META shares. TD Securities decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Moffett Nathanson increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $628.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $736.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total value of $14,296,645.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $753,393.55. This trade represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total value of $4,532,440.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 70,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,181,574.40. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 153,764 shares of company stock valued at $105,721,208. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.