MQS Management LLC Makes New Investment in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 521 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $300,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $736.05.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $717.50, for a total value of $370,947.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 6,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,892,632.50. This trade represents a 7.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,361 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.48, for a total value of $1,691,609.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 153,764 shares of company stock valued at $105,721,208. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $701.41 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $683.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $637.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 2.66. The stock has a market cap of $1.76 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $442.65 and a 52-week high of $747.90.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.11% and a return on equity of 38.69%. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.71 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.19%.

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.

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