Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Bought by Baker Avenue Asset Management LP

Key Points

• Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its position in Meta Platforms by 3.4%, bringing its total holdings to 33,728 shares valued at approximately $19.44 million.
• Meta Platforms received favorable ratings from several analysts, with price targets raised up to $900, indicating a strong investor confidence and consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The company reported earnings of $7.14 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and showcasing a 21.6% year-over-year revenue growth.

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,728 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares during the quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $19,440,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 102.6% during the first quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on META. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $800.00 price target (up previously from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Wedbush upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Scotiabank upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Four research 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 presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded up $7.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $769.30. 7,308,601 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,419,927. The firm has a market cap of $1.93 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.85, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $784.75. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $714.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $651.01.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. The business had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%. The company's revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.16 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 7.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $768.67, for a total value of $12,181,113.49. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 15,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $767.80, for a total value of $11,517,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 222,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $170,608,999. The trade was a 6.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 275,024 shares of company stock valued at $199,983,159 over the last 90 days. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms 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.