Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Acquired by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,046 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,707 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.8% of Highland Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $29,997,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valley Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Valley Financial Group Inc. now owns 588 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,743,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC now owns 481 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Riverwater Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 572 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ABLE Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC now owns 2,136 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,251,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total transaction of $14,296,645.65. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,183 shares in the company, valued at $753,393.55. This trade represents a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 13,793 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.13, for a total transaction of $9,670,686.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 118,279 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $82,928,955.27. The trade was a 10.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 137,095 shares of company stock worth $93,076,345 over the last quarter. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of several analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $808.00 target price (up from $650.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Friday, June 27th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $719.29.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.8%

Meta Platforms stock traded down $5.65 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $713.57. 9,313,360 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,534,409. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $647.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $627.91. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.83, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $442.65 and a fifty-two week high of $747.90.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 39.11%. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.71 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 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.