Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC Lowers Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC cut its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 31.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,908 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 31,564 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 3.2% of Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $39,139,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Weil Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Weil Company Inc. now owns 9,484 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,466,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth about $1,477,000. Burford Brothers Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 12.7% during the first quarter. Burford Brothers Inc. now owns 5,821 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,355,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares during the period. Vestia Personal Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 18.2% during the first quarter. Vestia Personal Wealth Advisors now owns 410 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, CFC Planning Co LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.0% during the first quarter. CFC Planning Co LLC now owns 965 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $556,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of META traded down $3.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $697.45. The stock had a trading volume of 4,836,269 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,328,973. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.66. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $442.65 and a 52-week high of $747.90. The business's fifty day moving average is $683.85 and its 200 day moving average is $637.15. The firm has a market cap of $1.75 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.11% and a return on equity of 38.69%. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.71 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.525 dividend. 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 0.30%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. 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, Pivotal Research decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $830.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $736.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.08, for a total value of $336,232.20. Following the sale, the director owned 9,342 shares in the company, valued at $6,755,013.36. The trade was a 4.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.08, for a total transaction of $375,278.52. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 26,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,225,251.04. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 153,764 shares of company stock worth $105,721,208 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

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.