Foundations Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 4,758 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Key Points

• Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms, acquiring an additional 4,758 shares, bringing its total holdings to 61,633 shares worth approximately $35.5 million.
• Meta Platforms reported quarterly earnings of $7.14 EPS, exceeding analyst expectations of $5.75, alongside a revenue of $47.52 billion, marking a 21.6% increase year-over-year.
• Institutional investors now own approximately 79.91% of Meta's stock, with various hedge funds significantly increasing their stakes during the first quarter of the year.

Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 8.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 61,633 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,758 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $35,523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Maridea Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 120.7% during the first quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,282 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248 shares in the last quarter. Schubert & Co boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 37.2% during the first quarter. Schubert & Co now owns 904 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $521,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. AGP Franklin LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth about $1,714,000. Avalon Capital Management raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.4% in the first quarter. Avalon Capital Management now owns 1,518 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $875,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Solidarity Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.0% in the first quarter. Solidarity Wealth LLC now owns 12,266 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $7,070,000 after buying an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $750.01 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $450.80 and a 12-month high of $784.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.89 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $701.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $645.68.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The company had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.16 EPS. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 8.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Roth Capital lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $820.32.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 13,793 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $701.13, for a total transaction of $9,670,686.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 118,279 shares of the company's stock, valued at $82,928,955.27. The trade was a 10.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total transaction of $4,532,440.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 70,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold a total of 152,980 shares of company stock valued at $105,708,832 in the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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