Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA Lowers Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA trimmed its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 8.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,978 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 745 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.3% of Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Planned Solutions Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. now owns 1,971 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,136,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Kwmg LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 25.4% in the first quarter. Kwmg LLC now owns 513 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.1% in the first quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 25,215 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $14,533,000 after purchasing an additional 3,681 shares in the last quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the first quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 6,318 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,641,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HBW Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,497 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $6,627,000 after buying an additional 1,102 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 3.2%

META stock traded up $21.10 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $687.95. 14,007,287 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,486,812. The company has a 50-day moving average of $581.05 and a 200-day moving average of $612.48. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $442.65 and a 1 year high of $740.91. 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 market capitalization of $1.73 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.76, a P/E/G 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.71 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 33,024 shares in the company, valued at $19,649,280. The trade was a 2.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $635.41, for a total value of $328,506.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,438 shares in the company, valued at $6,632,409.58. This represents a 4.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,135 shares of company stock valued at $34,481,779. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Roth Capital boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial raised 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, DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $702.48.

Meta Platforms Company 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.