Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by Vestor Capital LLC

Key Points

• Vestor Capital LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 40.9%, owning 103,599 shares valued at approximately $59.7 million, making it the fund's 3rd largest holding.
• Insider sales included COO Javier Olivan, who sold 517 shares for about $365,214, and Director Robert Kimmitt, who sold 465 shares for around $336,232, reflecting decreases in their respective positions.
• Meta Platforms recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, with a current annualized yield of 0.29% and a payout ratio of 8.19%.

Vestor Capital LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 40.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 103,599 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 30,082 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 4.9% of Vestor Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Vestor Capital LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $59,711,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in META. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 102.6% during the first 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $706.41, for a total transaction of $365,213.97. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 6,302 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,451,795.82. The trade was a 7.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.08, for a total value of $336,232.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 9,342 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,755,013.36. The trade was a 4.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 153,473 shares of company stock valued at $105,805,440 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $712.68 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.79 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 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. The business has a 50-day moving average of $692.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $641.78. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $450.80 and a 1 year high of $747.90.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The company 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 for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.71 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on META. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC raised Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Scotiabank raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Roth Capital raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $752.33.

Meta Platforms Company 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.

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