Farther Finance Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 35.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,837 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,134 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $18,071,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Suvretta Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 130.9% in the fourth quarter. Skye Global Management LP now owns 76,200 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $44,616,000 after purchasing an additional 43,200 shares during the period. Brueske Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $459,000. Apollon Financial LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $866,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 255.9% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,709,694 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,001,044,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229,350 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $702.65. The company had a trading volume of 2,274,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,475,575. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $442.65 and a 12-month high of $740.91. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $593.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $617.09. The stock has a market cap of $1.77 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.71 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.30%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 406 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.69, for a total value of $199,626.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 4,608 shares in the company, valued at $2,265,707.52. This trade represents a 8.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 1,462 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $701.13, for a total transaction of $1,025,052.06. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 139,538 shares in the company, valued at $97,834,277.94. The trade was a 1.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 56,104 shares of company stock worth $35,270,242. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $735.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $676.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday. Roth Capital lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $702.48.

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.