Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Acquired by N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 42.9%, acquiring an additional 821 shares during the first quarter, bringing their total to 2,734 shares valued at approximately $1.58 million.
• Notable purchases from other institutional investors include Price T Rowe Associates and Capital World Investors, with both funds increasing their stakes significantly, and overall institutional ownership of META stock is currently at 79.91%.
• Meta Platforms recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $7.14, which exceeded analysts' estimates, with a revenue of $47.52 billion, marking a 21.6% year-over-year increase.

N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 42.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,734 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 821 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Morningstar Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.7% in the first quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC now owns 42,620 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $24,564,000 after buying an additional 4,106 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 837 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 27.1% in the first quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 6,545 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,772,000 after purchasing an additional 1,397 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 83,222 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $47,966,000 after acquiring an additional 1,529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 9.4% in the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 43,021 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $24,795,000 after purchasing an additional 3,695 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.1%

NASDAQ META traded up $8.33 on Wednesday, hitting $771.79. 6,427,694 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,569,056. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $479.80 and a fifty-two week high of $784.75. The company has a market cap of $1.94 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.93, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $707.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $648.07.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The company had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.16 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 7.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on META. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $795.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $822.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.08, for a total value of $336,232.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 9,342 shares in the company, valued at $6,755,013.36. This represents a 4.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $715.00, for a total transaction of $369,655.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 5,785 shares in the company, valued at $4,136,275. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 167,298 shares of company stock worth $116,742,790 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

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.