Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is Formidable Asset Management LLC's 7th Largest Position

Formidable Asset Management LLC lowered its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,253 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 660 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 2.5% of Formidable Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Formidable Asset Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $15,131,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on META. Roth Capital lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. 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. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $752.33.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.6%

META traded up $4.37 on Thursday, reaching $717.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,940,197 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,476,063. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $689.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $640.33. 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 capitalization of $1.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $442.65 and a fifty-two week high of $747.90.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 39.11%. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.71 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend 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 Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $706.41, for a total transaction of $365,213.97. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 6,302 shares in the company, valued at $4,451,795.82. This represents a 7.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.08, for a total value of $336,232.20. Following the sale, the director owned 9,342 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,755,013.36. This trade represents a 4.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 152,954 shares of company stock worth $105,433,784 over the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms 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.