Wright Investors Service Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,598 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 777 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 3.9% of Wright Investors Service Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Wright Investors Service Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $11,872,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fjell Capital LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,836,000. Opulen Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $325,000. Daner Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $334,000. Appleton Partners Inc. MA lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA now owns 26,312 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $15,406,000 after buying an additional 951 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $20,230,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.
Meta Platforms Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ META traded up $16.56 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $683.41. The company had a trading volume of 8,667,775 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,754,988. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $442.65 and a 52 week high of $740.91. The company has a market cap of $1.72 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.57, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. 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 business's 50-day moving average is $581.05 and its 200 day moving average is $612.48.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share 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 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.71 EPS. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 8.19%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
META has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Pivotal Research dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $830.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $702.48.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on META
Insider Activity at Meta Platforms
In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total value of $4,532,440.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 70,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,181,574.40. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total value of $14,296,645.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 1,183 shares in the company, valued at $753,393.55. This trade represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 55,135 shares of company stock valued at $34,481,779. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.
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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