Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is JW Asset Management LLC's 4th Largest Position

JW Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 328.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,700 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,500 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 4.5% of JW Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. JW Asset Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $7,896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 23.5% in the first quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 908,910 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $523,859,000 after purchasing an additional 172,810 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.3% in the first quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC now owns 21,725 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $12,521,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management increased its position in Meta Platforms by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 2,209 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,273,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Tidemark LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Tidemark LLC now owns 690 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC now owns 3,371 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,943,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.8%

META stock traded up $6.56 during trading on Thursday, reaching $786.64. 4,576,650 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,321,270. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $479.80 and a 12 month high of $795.46. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $720.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $653.97. The company has a market capitalization of $1.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.16 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on META shares. UBS Group increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $812.00 to $897.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC raised Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $810.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $822.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $767.80, for a total value of $11,517,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 222,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $170,608,999. This trade represents a 6.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 1,037 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $785.18, for a total value of $814,231.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 292,211 shares of company stock worth $215,232,155 in the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms 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.