Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Fortis Group Advisors LLC

Fortis Group Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 16.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,835 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 972 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kooman & Associates increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 16.5% during the first quarter. Kooman & Associates now owns 529 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 124.8% during the first quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 94,478 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $54,454,000 after acquiring an additional 52,455 shares during the last quarter. Members Trust Co increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 53.0% during the first quarter. Members Trust Co now owns 901 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $519,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Frederick Financial Consultants LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 25.2% during the first quarter. Frederick Financial Consultants LLC now owns 1,265 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $729,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the first quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 82,269 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $47,416,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META traded up $4.42 on Thursday, reaching $718.00. The company had a trading volume of 6,940,197 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,476,063. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $689.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $640.33. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $442.65 and a 1 year high of $747.90. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.11% and a return on equity of 38.69%. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.71 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $664.00 to $783.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. 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. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $752.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.08, for a total transaction of $375,278.52. Following the sale, the insider owned 26,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,225,251.04. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,361 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.48, for a total transaction of $1,691,609.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 152,954 shares of company stock valued at $105,433,784 over the last three months. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

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.