Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1,973.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,033 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 25,729 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.9% of Barlow Wealth Partners Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Barlow Wealth Partners Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $14,795,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in META. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Meta Platforms Price Performance
Shares of META stock opened at $718.35 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $1.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $442.65 and a 12 month high of $747.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $662.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $631.21.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 39.11%. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.71 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.
Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 8.19%.
Insider Activity at Meta Platforms
In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,361 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.48, for a total value of $1,691,609.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $740.97, for a total value of $383,081.49. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 7,853 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,818,837.41. This trade represents a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 152,756 shares of company stock valued at $104,720,878 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Loop Capital increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Moffett Nathanson upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $803.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $750.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $719.29.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on META
About Meta Platforms
(
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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