GPM Growth Investors Inc. Purchases 451 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

GPM Growth Investors Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 6.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,726 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 451 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 2.0% of GPM Growth Investors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. GPM Growth Investors Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,453,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,535 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $885,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 18.9% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 91,562 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $52,772,000 after acquiring an additional 14,561 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 214,665 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $123,722,000 after purchasing an additional 23,804 shares during the period. Future You Wealth LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Future You Wealth LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Melfa Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Melfa Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,274 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,463,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $704.28 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $442.65 and a 12-month high of $747.90. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.77 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.47, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $686.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $638.34.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 39.11%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.71 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $736.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.08, for a total transaction of $375,278.52. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 26,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,225,251.04. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $717.50, for a total value of $370,947.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 6,819 shares in the company, valued at $4,892,632.50. This trade represents a 7.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 153,764 shares of company stock worth $105,721,208 in the last quarter. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Company 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.

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