Brendel Financial Advisors LLC Has $2.02 Million Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Brendel Financial Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 10.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,512 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 401 shares during the period. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,024,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ META traded down $3.52 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $708.68. 9,285,562 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,488,533. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $442.65 and a 12 month high of $740.91. The company has a market capitalization of $1.78 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.26. 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 simple moving average of $629.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $624.96.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 for 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%. The firm's revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.71 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $676.00 to $807.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $712.69.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 406 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.69, for a total transaction of $199,626.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 4,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,265,707.52. This represents a 8.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.66, for a total value of $525,577.86. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,261 shares in the company, valued at $17,268,742.26. This represents a 2.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 124,312 shares of company stock worth $83,503,034 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

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.