Apollon Wealth Management LLC Acquires 32,316 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 63.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,369 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 32,316 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.1% of Apollon Wealth Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Apollon Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $48,051,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 13,793 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $701.13, for a total value of $9,670,686.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 118,279 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,928,955.27. The trade was a 10.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total transaction of $4,532,440.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 70,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,181,574.40. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 153,764 shares of company stock worth $105,721,208 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. TD Securities reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $812.00 price objective (up from $683.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $665.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Moffett Nathanson lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $736.05.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded up $2.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $704.28. 12,743,944 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,336,421. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $442.65 and a 12 month high of $747.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $686.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $638.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 2.66. The company has a market capitalization of $1.77 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.30%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.19%.

About Meta Platforms

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.