Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by Perennial Advisors LLC

Perennial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 171.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,624 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,706 shares during the quarter. Perennial Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,123,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Suvretta Capital Management LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 170,338 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $99,735,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850 shares during the period. Skye Global Management LP boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 130.9% in the fourth quarter. Skye Global Management LP now owns 76,200 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $44,616,000 after buying an additional 43,200 shares during the period. Brueske Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $459,000. Apollon Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $866,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 255.9% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,709,694 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,001,044,000 after buying an additional 1,229,350 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.9%

META opened at $697.71 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $442.65 and a 12 month high of $740.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The stock has a market cap of $1.75 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.26. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $587.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $615.18.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.45 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.71 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Loop Capital upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $702.48.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $671.00, for a total transaction of $348,249.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,930,042. This trade represents a 1.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.00, for a total value of $370,272.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,054 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,904,886. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,171 shares of company stock valued at $35,163,457. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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