WP Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,022 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 718 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 6.7% of WP Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. WP Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $20,185,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 12.6% in the first quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 3,799 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,226,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the first quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 95,498 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $55,041,000 after purchasing an additional 3,773 shares during the period. Ballast Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 23.1% in the first quarter. Ballast Inc. now owns 655 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.0% in the first quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 32,520 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $18,743,000 after purchasing an additional 1,554 shares during the period. Finally, Maia Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.4% in the first quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 10,465 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,562,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.
Meta Platforms Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $782.13 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $722.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $654.81. The company has a market cap of $1.96 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.27. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $795.46.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%. The firm had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.16 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.60%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms
In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $753.43, for a total value of $11,939,605.21. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total transaction of $46,557,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 237,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $184,059,219.75. This represents a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 269,243 shares of company stock worth $200,605,051 in the last ninety days. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
META has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $783.00 to $811.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Roth Capital upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $822.41.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on META
Meta Platforms Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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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