Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Acquired by Barrett & Company Inc.

Barrett & Company Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 12.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,782 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 764 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.7% of Barrett & Company Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Barrett & Company Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Fjell Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,836,000. Opulen Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $325,000. Daner Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $334,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $20,230,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the period. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $112,406,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on META. Needham & Company LLC reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Pivotal Research reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $830.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $735.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $710.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $699.27, for a total value of $325,160.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,857,740.89. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $614.97, for a total value of $373,901.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 6,838 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,205,164.86. This trade represents a 8.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 111,031 shares of company stock worth $73,954,565 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.9%

NASDAQ META traded down $13.42 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $682.35. The company had a trading volume of 22,498,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,546,632. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $442.65 and a fifty-two week high of $740.91. The company has a market capitalization of $1.72 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.66. The firm's 50 day moving average is $618.10 and its 200 day moving average is $623.08.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.31%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

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.