Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Mutual Advisors LLC

Mutual Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,556 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 494 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 0.7% of Mutual Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Mutual Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $23,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gutierrez Wealth Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Gutierrez Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 4,516 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,603,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth approximately $672,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 188,228 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $108,487,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328 shares during the period. Clark Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 85.1% in the 1st quarter. Clark Asset Management LLC now owns 3,460 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,591 shares during the period. Finally, Smart Money Group LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 2,052 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded down $5.54 during trading on Thursday, hitting $727.24. 9,905,148 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,503,230. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $672.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $633.41. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $442.65 and a 52-week high of $747.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $1.83 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.28.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.71 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on META. Truist Financial upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Pivotal Research dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $830.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $740.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $727.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.51, for a total value of $370,952.67. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 7,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,263,653.36. This trade represents a 6.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,361 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was 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 90 days, insiders sold 153,792 shares of company stock valued at $105,466,325. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.