HBW Advisory Services LLC Increases Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

HBW Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 10.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,497 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 1,102 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 0.9% of HBW Advisory Services LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. HBW Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,627,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $19,949,512,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $13,517,178,000 after buying an additional 23,417,803 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 78,471.1% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,248,763 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,658,713,000 after buying an additional 6,240,810 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $2,243,603,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Meta Platforms by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,445,565 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $13,727,613,000 after acquiring an additional 2,787,832 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on META. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $624.00 to $676.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $683.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $752.00 to $664.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $702.48.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.93, for a total value of $333,428.81. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 9,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,398,350.53. This represents a 4.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total value of $4,532,440.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 70,040 shares in the company, valued at $46,181,574.40. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,652 shares of company stock valued at $34,815,208 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ META traded down $3.33 during trading on Thursday, reaching $684.62. The stock had a trading volume of 12,316,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,508,647. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The company has a market cap of $1.72 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.62, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $442.65 and a fifty-two week high of $740.91. The business's 50-day moving average price is $583.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $613.00.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.71 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.31%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.19%.

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.