Buck Wealth Strategies LLC Purchases 519 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Buck Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 142.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 883 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the quarter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $509,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $19,949,512,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% in the first 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 during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 78,471.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,248,763 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,658,713,000 after purchasing an additional 6,240,810 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $2,243,603,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,787,832 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META traded up $7.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $733.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 18,723,612 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,525,719. The stock's 50-day moving average is $633.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $625.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.84 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.26. 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 one year low of $442.65 and a one year high of $740.91.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.11% and a return on equity of 38.69%. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.71 EPS. The business's revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.19%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $563.03, for a total value of $342,322.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 6,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,507,676.90. This represents a 8.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.66, for a total value of $525,577.86. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,261 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,268,742.26. This trade represents a 2.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 124,831 shares of company stock worth $83,868,872 over the last three months. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $628.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Moffett Nathanson boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $664.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $808.00 price objective (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Friday. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $719.52.

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.