Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by First National Advisers LLC

Key Points

• First National Advisers LLC reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 6.9% in the first quarter, owning 22,901 shares, which now represents 2.1% of their portfolio.
• A number of hedge funds, including Price T Rowe Associates and Capital World Investors, have increased their stakes in Meta Platforms, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Meta reported earnings of $7.14 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenue reaching $47.52 billion, a year-over-year increase of 21.6%.

First National Advisers LLC cut its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 6.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,901 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,694 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 2.1% of First National Advisers LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. First National Advisers LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $13,200,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in META. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 102.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total value of $4,532,440.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 70,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,181,574.40. This represents a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 13,793 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.13, for a total transaction of $9,670,686.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 118,279 shares of the company's stock, valued at $82,928,955.27. This trade represents a 10.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 152,372 shares of company stock valued at $105,348,896. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META traded up $24.27 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $774.28. 10,644,548 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,620,599. The stock's fifty day moving average is $701.68 and its 200 day moving average is $646.12. The stock has a market cap of $1.95 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $450.80 and a 1-year high of $784.75.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. The business had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.16 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on META. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $890.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $810.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $840.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Four investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $820.32.

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.