Donoghue Forlines LLC Acquires Shares of 3,632 Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Key Points

• Donoghue Forlines LLC invested approximately $2.09 million in Meta Platforms, acquiring 3,632 shares in the first quarter, highlighting continued institutional interest in the company's stock.
• Meta Platforms reported a 12-month high of $795.46 and a net margin of 39.99%, with quarterly revenues of $47.52 billion, surpassing analyst expectations.
• Several analysts have set target price increases for Meta, with JMP Securities raising their target from $750 to $900, emphasizing a strong belief in the stock's future performance.

Donoghue Forlines LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,632 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $2,093,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Csenge Advisory Group boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 9,539 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,498,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019 shares in the last quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 170,338 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $99,735,000 after buying an additional 1,850 shares during the period. Skye Global Management LP raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 130.9% during the 4th quarter. Skye Global Management LP now owns 76,200 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $44,616,000 after buying an additional 43,200 shares during the period. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, JMG Financial Group Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $284,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Roth Capital upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Benchmark upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $810.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Bank of America increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Moffett Nathanson increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock traded up $4.22 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $786.35. 8,081,036 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,297,497. The company has a market capitalization of $1.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.27. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $722.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $654.81. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $796.25. 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 (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.16 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $753.43, for a total value of $11,939,605.21. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total value of $46,557,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 237,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $184,059,219.75. This trade represents a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 269,243 shares of company stock valued at $200,605,051 over the last quarter. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

About Meta Platforms

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.