Howard Capital Management Inc. Sells 9,082 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Key Points

• Howard Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Meta Platforms by 10.8% in Q1, now owning 74,944 shares valued at approximately $43.20 million.
• Institutional investors own 79.91% of Meta Platforms, with notable increases from GAMMA Investing LLC and Northern Trust Corp during the last quarter.
• Meta Platforms announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.3%, with an earnings per share of $7.14 reported for the last quarter, exceeding expectations.

Howard Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 10.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,944 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 9,082 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 0.8% of Howard Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Howard Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $43,195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 102.6% during the 1st quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded down $8.30 on Tuesday, reaching $768.07. 3,441,751 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,569,142. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $478.65 and a one year high of $784.75. The company has a market capitalization of $1.93 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.85, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a 50-day moving average of $704.66 and a 200 day moving average of $647.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%. The business had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.16 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors 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 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 7.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on META. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $808.00 to $880.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upgraded Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $820.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $715.00, for a total value of $369,655.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 5,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,136,275. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $753.43, for a total value of $11,939,605.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 167,298 shares of company stock worth $116,742,790 in the last quarter. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

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.