Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Acquired by Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 20.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 370,213 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 64,048 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 2.1% of Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $213,375,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Valley Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Valley Financial Group Inc. now owns 588 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,743,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,873 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,097,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC now owns 481 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverwater Partners LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 572 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.25, for a total value of $552,830.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,103 shares in the company, valued at $19,269,825.75. This trade represents a 2.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 406 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.69, for a total transaction of $199,626.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 4,608 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,265,707.52. The trade was a 8.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 85,593 shares of company stock worth $56,008,477. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Pivotal Research reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $830.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Roth Capital increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $676.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $704.26.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $682.87 on Monday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $442.65 and a twelve month high of $740.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a 50-day moving average of $604.07 and a 200-day moving average of $619.96. The firm has a market cap of $1.72 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.26.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. 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 firm posted $4.71 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

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