Mutual Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Mutual Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 42,556 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 494 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 0.7% of Mutual Advisors LLC's portfolio, 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.

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

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.1%

NASDAQ META traded down $7.82 during trading on Thursday, hitting $724.96. The company had a trading volume of 6,505,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,475,070. The company has a market cap of $1.82 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.28. 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 company's fifty day moving average is $669.26 and its 200-day moving average is $632.53. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $442.65 and a one year high of $747.90.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.71 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Pivotal Research decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $830.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $727.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,181,574.40. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total value of $14,296,645.65. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,183 shares in the company, valued at $753,393.55. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 153,273 shares of company stock valued at $105,091,830. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.