Greenwood Capital Associates LLC Increases Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Greenwood Capital Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 100.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,498 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,268 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.0% of Greenwood Capital Associates LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $7,203,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 53.6% during the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 86 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total value of $3,334,383.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 16,463 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,855,043.68. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.50, for a total transaction of $369,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,446 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,523,445. This trade represents a 7.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 86,201 shares of company stock worth $56,377,837. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.5%

Meta Platforms stock traded down $10.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $682.87. 9,259,272 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,501,070. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $442.65 and a 12 month high of $740.91. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $600.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $618.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.72 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.55, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.26.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.71 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.31%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on META shares. Susquehanna cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $683.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $704.26.

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.