Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stake Boosted by Bailard Inc.

Bailard Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 0.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 82,269 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 1.2% of Bailard Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Bailard Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $47,416,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.48, for a total transaction of $1,691,609.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 26,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,225,251.04. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 152,437 shares of company stock valued at $105,068,570. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $712.97 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $442.65 and a fifty-two week high of $747.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 2.66. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $686.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $638.61. The stock has a market cap of $1.79 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.81, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.71 EPS. The company's revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Securities reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $750.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $738.37.

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.

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