Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. Grows Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 334.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,749 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 19,816 shares during the period. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $14,841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on META. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Roth Capital increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Moffett Nathanson upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $803.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $665.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. One equities research 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 given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $712.69.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded up $13.67 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $712.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,806,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,499,652. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.26. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $442.65 and a 12 month high of $740.91. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $625.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $624.38.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.71 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.19%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $700.38, for a total transaction of $350,190.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,119 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,615,645.22. This trade represents a 0.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.18, for a total transaction of $296,813.44. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,744,547.96. This trade represents a 9.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 110,002 shares of company stock valued at $73,353,340. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.