Kessler Investment Group LLC Cuts Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Kessler Investment Group LLC trimmed its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 97.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 239 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 9,720 shares during the period. Kessler Investment Group LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth $25,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 102.6% in the first quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on META shares. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $735.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Barclays lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $740.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $719.52.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META traded down $18.87 on Tuesday, hitting $719.22. 13,399,510 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,538,360. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $643.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $627.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $442.65 and a one year high of $747.90. The firm has a market cap of $1.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.26.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.11% and a return on equity of 38.69%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.71 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 8.19%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $704.89, for a total transaction of $365,837.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 28,145 shares in the company, valued at $19,839,129.05. This trade represents a 1.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $699.27, for a total value of $325,160.55. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,807 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,857,740.89. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 137,095 shares of company stock worth $93,076,345. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.