Grimes & Company Inc. Sells 656 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Grimes & Company Inc. cut its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,055 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 656 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 0.9% of Grimes & Company Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Grimes & Company Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $28,850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ META traded down $13.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $682.35. 22,498,010 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,546,627. The company has a market cap of $1.72 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.61, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $618.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $623.08. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $442.65 and a 52 week high of $740.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 2.66.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion during 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.71 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $627.05, for a total transaction of $577,513.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 31,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,552,673.10. The trade was a 2.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 1,462 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $701.13, for a total value of $1,025,052.06. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 139,538 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $97,834,277.94. This trade represents a 1.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 111,031 shares of company stock worth $73,954,565 in the last three months. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of several recent research reports. Susquehanna cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $750.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $710.00.

About Meta Platforms

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.