Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Position Raised by Flossbach Von Storch SE

Flossbach Von Storch SE lifted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 7.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 578,928 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 41,660 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 1.4% of Flossbach Von Storch SE's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Flossbach Von Storch SE's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $333,671,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.3%

META stock opened at $717.51 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $674.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $634.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.66. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $442.65 and a fifty-two week high of $747.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.80 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.71 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total transaction of $14,296,645.65. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 1,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $753,393.55. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $46,181,574.40. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 153,792 shares of company stock worth $105,466,325. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $735.00 to $795.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $628.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $729.38.

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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