Versant Capital Management Inc Buys 2,707 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 73.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,391 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 2,707 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 0.6% of Versant Capital Management Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Versant Capital Management Inc's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. First Hawaiian Bank lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 31,329 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $18,057,000 after buying an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 5,328 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,071,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. First Citizens Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 28.3% in the 1st quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 983 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 478.8% in the 1st quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 6,176 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,559,000 after purchasing an additional 5,109 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,940,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $683.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $701.05.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 70,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,181,574.40. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 475 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $628.25, for a total value of $298,418.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,272 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,453,384. The trade was a 4.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 56,664 shares of company stock valued at $35,484,670. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded down $2.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $642.23. 16,230,863 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,491,179. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $578.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $610.83. The stock has a market cap of $1.61 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $442.65 and a 12-month high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.71 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

Meta Platforms Profile

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.