LifeWealth Investments LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 60.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,528 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 955 shares during the period. LifeWealth Investments LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 12.7% in the first quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 6,782 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,909,000 after acquiring an additional 764 shares during the period. JBR Co Financial Management Inc boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the first quarter. JBR Co Financial Management Inc now owns 4,071 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $2,346,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. White Wing Wealth Management acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $314,000. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 376.8% in the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 108,432 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $63,383,000 after acquiring an additional 85,691 shares during the period. Finally, Accelerate Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 8.7% in the first quarter. Accelerate Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,620 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $934,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities analysts have commented on META shares. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $676.00 to $807.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $665.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $710.00.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on META
Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms
In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total value of $3,334,383.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 16,463 shares in the company, valued at $10,855,043.68. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,753 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $700.43, for a total value of $1,928,283.79. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 85,619 shares of the company's stock, valued at $59,970,116.17. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 111,031 shares of company stock valued at $73,954,565. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.
Meta Platforms Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ META traded down $13.42 during trading on Friday, hitting $682.35. The company had a trading volume of 22,498,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,546,632. The company has a market cap of $1.72 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.61, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.26. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $442.65 and a 52 week high of $740.91. The business's 50-day moving average is $618.10 and its 200 day moving average is $623.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 2.66.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 39.11%. The firm's revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.71 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share 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 $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.31%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.19%.
Meta Platforms Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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