Atlas Wealth LLC Cuts Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Key Points

• Atlas Wealth LLC reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 25.3% in Q1, selling 1,025 shares and leaving it with a total of 3,031 shares valued at approximately $1.75 million.
• Institutional investors now hold 79.91% of Meta's stock, with significant increases in holdings by firms like GAMMA Investing LLC, which raised its position by an astounding 67,172.9%.
• Meta reported $7.14 earnings per share for the latest quarter, surpassing estimates and showing a 21.6% year-over-year revenue growth, alongside the announcement of a quarterly dividend of $0.525.

Atlas Wealth LLC cut its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 25.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,031 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,025 shares during the quarter. Atlas Wealth LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,317,434 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $24,777,282,000 after buying an additional 1,049,121 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,317,105 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $23,606,338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141,355 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $13,517,178,000 after purchasing an additional 23,417,803 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,445,565 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $13,727,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,787,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 12,007,308 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $7,030,399,000 after buying an additional 280,357 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on META shares. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $808.00 to $880.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, HSBC raised Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $610.00 to $900.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $822.41.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.08, for a total transaction of $336,232.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,342 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,755,013.36. This trade represents a 4.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $719.86, for a total transaction of $373,607.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,392,423. This trade represents a 1.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 167,298 shares of company stock worth $116,742,790 in the last ninety days. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded down $12.91 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $763.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,612,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,355,778. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $478.65 and a 12 month high of $784.75. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $704.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $647.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.92 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. The business had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.60%.

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.