Hartline Investment Corp Boosts Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Hartline Investment Corp raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 19.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,623 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 6,009 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 2.8% of Hartline Investment Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Hartline Investment Corp's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $21,108,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META traded down $5.54 during trading on Thursday, reaching $727.24. 9,905,148 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,503,230. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $672.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $633.41. 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 $1.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $442.65 and a 52-week high of $747.90.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $42.31 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.71 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued 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 was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $664.00 to $783.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $727.95.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $717.51, for a total value of $370,952.67. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 7,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,263,653.36. This trade represents a 6.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,361 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.48, for a total transaction of $1,691,609.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 153,792 shares of company stock valued at $105,466,325 in the last 90 days. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by 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.