LVW Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

LVW Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 12.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,545 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 1,028 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 0.7% of LVW Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. LVW Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,501,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META traded up $0.47 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $688.42. The stock had a trading volume of 6,557,511 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,485,650. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $583.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $613.00. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $442.65 and a fifty-two week high of $740.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.73 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.78, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.71 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $628.25, for a total value of $298,418.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,272 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,453,384. This represents a 4.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $595.00, for a total transaction of $547,995.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,649,280. This represents a 2.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,652 shares of company stock worth $34,815,208. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One investment 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $702.48.

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.