Ewa LLC Grows Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

EWA LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 50.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,534 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 2,518 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 1.6% of EWA LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. EWA LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ META traded up $17.41 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $726.09. 13,940,515 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,486,417. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $442.65 and a 12 month high of $740.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $629.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $624.96. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $1.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.32, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.26.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 39.11%. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.71 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $812.00 price target (up from $683.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $750.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Pivotal Research cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $830.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $715.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 1,462 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.13, for a total transaction of $1,025,052.06. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 139,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,834,277.94. This represents a 1.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total value of $4,532,440.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 70,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,181,574.40. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 124,312 shares of company stock worth $83,503,034. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.