Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Holdings Boosted by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 67,172.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 23,417,803 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 2.4% of GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. GAMMA Investing LLC owned about 0.93% of Meta Platforms worth $13,517,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on META. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $624.00 to $676.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $740.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Roth Capital lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $701.05.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded down $2.82 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $642.23. 16,230,863 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,491,179. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $578.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $610.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.61 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $442.65 and a 12 month high of $740.91.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.71 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $635.41, for a total value of $328,506.97. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 10,438 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,632,409.58. This trade represents a 4.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $644.00, for a total transaction of $593,124.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,860,580. The trade was a 2.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,664 shares of company stock worth $35,484,670 in the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.