Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 16.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,422 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,751 shares during the period. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $7,160,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $19,949,512,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $13,517,178,000 after acquiring an additional 23,417,803 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew 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. bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $2,243,603,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 13.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.
Meta Platforms Price Performance
Shares of META traded down $10.49 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $682.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,259,272 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,501,078. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $442.65 and a one year high of $740.91. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $604.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $619.26. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.72 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.26.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.71 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.31%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 8.19%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Moffett Nathanson boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $676.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $704.26.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on META
Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms
In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total transaction of $14,296,645.65. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 1,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at $753,393.55. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $701.00, for a total transaction of $363,819.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,457,283. The trade was a 1.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 86,201 shares of company stock worth $56,377,837. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.
About Meta Platforms
(
Free Report)
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.
Featured Stories
Before you consider Meta Platforms, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Meta Platforms wasn't on the list.
While Meta Platforms currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Enter your email address and we'll send you MarketBeat's list of seven stocks and why their long-term outlooks are very promising.
Get This Free Report
