Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Position Raised by Berger Financial Group Inc

Berger Financial Group Inc boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 7.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,000 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the period. Berger Financial Group Inc's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 102.6% during the 1st quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $780.08 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.96 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.24, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $720.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $653.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $479.80 and a twelve month high of $795.46.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. The company had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.16 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share 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 given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays raised 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, August 1st. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citizens Jmp upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $822.41.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $770.00, for a total value of $398,090.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 4,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,658,270. This trade represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 515 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $776.38, for a total value of $399,835.70. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 25,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,436,673.30. This trade represents a 2.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 292,211 shares of company stock valued at $215,232,155. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

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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