Lewis Asset Management LLC Sells 393 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Key Points

• Lewis Asset Management LLC has reduced its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.0%, now owning 9,437 shares valued at approximately $5.44 million, making it the company's 3rd largest holding in their portfolio.
• Meta Platforms recently reported earnings of $6.43 per share, significantly exceeding analyst expectations, with quarterly revenue of $42.31 billion, marking a 16.1% year-over-year increase.
• The company's CFO and CEO have both recently sold shares, indicating a 10.44% decrease in their respective positions, and insiders sold a total of 153,473 shares valued at over $105 million in the past three months.

Lewis Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 4.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,437 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 393 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 4.5% of Lewis Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Lewis Asset Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 102.6% during the first quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of several research reports. Wedbush raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $740.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Benchmark raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $754.07.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 13,793 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.13, for a total value of $9,670,686.09. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 118,279 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,928,955.27. This trade represents a 10.44% 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 the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total value of $14,296,645.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 1,183 shares in the company, valued at $753,393.55. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 151,944 shares of company stock worth $104,965,570. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded down $6.16 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $711.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,558,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,318,961. The firm has a market cap of $1.79 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $450.80 and a 1 year high of $747.90. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $694.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $642.71.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 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.