Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by DAVENPORT & Co LLC

DAVENPORT & Co LLC cut its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 497,750 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 2,710 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.7% of DAVENPORT & Co LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. DAVENPORT & Co LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $286,902,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on META. Loop Capital increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $665.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $803.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $765.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $719.29.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:META traded down $0.66 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $718.35. 9,438,384 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,524,462. 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 fifty-two week low of $442.65 and a fifty-two week high of $747.90. The company has a market capitalization of $1.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $658.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $630.28.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 13,793 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 $82,928,955.27. The trade was a 10.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total value of $14,296,645.65. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at $753,393.55. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 153,677 shares of company stock valued at $105,221,340. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

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.