NewEdge Wealth LLC Sells 12,552 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• NewEdge Wealth reduced its Meta Platforms stake by 5.4%, selling 12,552 shares during the first quarter while retaining 219,387 shares valued at approximately $125.5 million. Institutional investors own about 79.91% of Meta’s outstanding stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with Meta receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $835.64; individual targets ranged from $671 to $850.
• Meta reported strong quarterly results, including $10.44 in EPS and $56.31 billion in revenue, with revenue increasing 33.1% year over year. Meanwhile, insiders sold 36,393 shares worth approximately $22.1 million over the past 90 days.

NewEdge Wealth LLC decreased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 5.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 219,387 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 12,552 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.5% of NewEdge Wealth LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. NewEdge Wealth LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $125,518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. RHL Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Bayban raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Key Capital Management INC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $48,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Susquehanna raised Meta Platforms from a "positive" rating to a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Citizens Jmp lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wedbush initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $671.00 price objective for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $835.64.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: A new free verification badge system for Facebook users, which may improve trust and platform quality. Fast Company article
• Positive Sentiment: A dedicated Marketplace seller app with tools for merchants, aimed at making Facebook commerce more useful and organized. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary remained constructive, with articles highlighting Meta as a strong momentum stock and a potentially attractive AI-era value name.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment stayed favorable, including a report that Wells Fargo raised its price target on Meta to $835.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total value of $2,012,047.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,498 shares in the company, valued at $5,708,013.06. This represents a 26.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total transaction of $303,875.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,092,483.25. This trade represents a 12.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 36,393 shares of company stock worth $22,141,163. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $595.19 on Monday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. The company has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a fifty day moving average of $604.51 and a 200 day moving average of $625.53.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The business had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.43 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.63%.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc NASDAQ: META, formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta's core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.

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