Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 7.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,235 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.7%
META stock traded up $12.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $732.78. The company had a trading volume of 11,398,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,483,554. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.66. The company has a market capitalization of $1.84 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $665.58 and a 200 day moving average of $631.83. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $442.65 and a 12 month high of $747.90.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.11% and a return on equity of 38.69%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.71 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.19%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 13,793 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $701.13, for a total value of $9,670,686.09. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 118,279 shares in the company, valued at $82,928,955.27. This represents a 10.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the 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 owned 70,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,181,574.40. This represents a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 152,756 shares of company stock worth $104,720,878 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research firms have commented on META. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $735.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $740.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Moffett Nathanson boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $727.95.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms Company Profile
(
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.
Read More
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
Wondering where to start (or end) with AI stocks? These 10 simple stocks can help investors build long-term wealth as artificial intelligence continues to grow into the future.
Get This Free Report
