Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Bought by Milestone Asset Management LLC

Milestone Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 81.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,515 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 1,582 shares during the quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,026,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of META. Fjell Capital LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,836,000. Opulen Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $325,000. Daner Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $334,000. Appleton Partners Inc. MA lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA now owns 26,312 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $15,406,000 after acquiring an additional 951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $20,230,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded down $0.59 on Thursday, hitting $687.36. The stock had a trading volume of 6,942,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,487,478. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $442.65 and a 52-week high of $740.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $1.73 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The company's 50 day moving average price is $583.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $613.00.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.71 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.19%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.00, for a total value of $370,272.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 8,054 shares in the company, valued at $4,904,886. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $595.00, for a total value of $547,995.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,024 shares in the company, valued at $19,649,280. This trade represents a 2.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,652 shares of company stock worth $34,815,208 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Securities decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $702.48.

Meta Platforms Company 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.