Manchester Capital Management LLC Has $2.37 Million Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Key Points

• Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 17.5%, bringing their total holdings to 4,118 shares valued at approximately $2.37 million.
• Meta Platforms reported strong recent earnings, with a per-share profit of $7.14, exceeding analysts' expectations of $5.75, and a revenues of $47.52 billion for the quarter.
• CTO Andrew Bosworth and CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently sold a combined total of over 38,000 shares, raising questions about insider confidence in the stock.

Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 17.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,118 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 613 shares during the quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Delta Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,839 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,375,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 15.1% in the first quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC now owns 44,543 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $26,693,000 after purchasing an additional 5,827 shares in the last quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 2,852.3% in the first quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC now owns 128,811 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $74,242,000 after purchasing an additional 124,448 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 125.3% during the first quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 2,050 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140 shares during the period. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 25.8% during the first quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 260,496 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $150,139,000 after purchasing an additional 53,401 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $760.26, for a total transaction of $393,054.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 5,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,005,049.68. This represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $768.67, for a total value of $12,181,113.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 260,024 shares of company stock valued at $188,466,159. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded up $7.47 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $769.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,308,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,494,221. The company has a market capitalization of $1.93 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $711.99 and a 200 day moving average of $649.96. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $479.80 and a 12 month high of $784.75.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.16 EPS. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JMP Securities increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Jmp upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $920.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Securities dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $822.41.

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.