Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Bought by Gradient Investments LLC

Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 7.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 118,291 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,255 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.4% of Gradient Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Gradient Investments LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $68,178,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on META shares. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $750.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued 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 company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $702.48.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.00, for a total transaction of $370,272.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,054 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,904,886. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 475 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $628.25, for a total transaction of $298,418.75. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,272 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,453,384. This represents a 4.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 55,652 shares of company stock valued at $34,815,208 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of META traded up $1.13 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $689.08. The stock had a trading volume of 6,637,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,711,318. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $442.65 and a 1-year high of $740.91. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $583.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $613.00. The company has a market cap of $1.73 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.81, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.71 earnings per share. Equities research 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 8.19%.

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.