Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stake Raised by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.9% during the first quarter, owning 120,899 shares worth approximately $69.68 million.
• Insider transactions revealed that CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares and CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the company's stock in May, reflecting significant reductions in their ownership.
• The stock currently has an average analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $754.07, with recent price targets ranging from $675.00 to $850.00 based on various brokerage evaluations.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 120,899 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,639 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $69,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 102.6% in the 1st quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at $753,393.55. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 152,980 shares of company stock valued at $105,708,832. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $845.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $795.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $840.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $815.09.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 3.0%

Meta Platforms stock traded down $23.43 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $750.01. 18,985,910 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,659,175. The company's fifty day moving average price is $699.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $644.61. The company has a market cap of $1.89 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.28. 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 fifty-two week low of $450.80 and a fifty-two week high of $784.75.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. The business had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 40.31% and a net margin of 39.99%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.16 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.