Nicolet Advisory Services LLC Buys 436 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Key Points

• Nicolet Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 4.8%, acquiring an additional 436 shares for a total of 9,454 shares valued at approximately $5.17 million.
• Meta Platforms reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $7.14 for the last quarter, surpassing the expected $5.75 and showing a revenue of $47.52 billion, which was also above predictions.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525, translating to an annual yield of 0.3% and a dividend payout ratio of 7.60%.

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 4.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,454 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 436 shares during the quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,317,434 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $24,777,282,000 after buying an additional 1,049,121 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,317,105 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $23,606,338,000 after buying an additional 1,141,355 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $13,517,178,000 after buying an additional 23,417,803 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,445,565 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $13,727,613,000 after buying an additional 2,787,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 12,007,308 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $7,030,399,000 after buying an additional 280,357 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock traded down $12.91 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $763.46. 11,612,061 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,355,778. The stock's 50-day moving average is $704.66 and its 200-day moving average is $647.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The stock has a market cap of $1.92 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.27. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $478.65 and a 52 week high of $784.75.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.16 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS 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 issued 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 (DPR) is currently 7.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total value of $14,296,645.65. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 1,183 shares in the company, valued at $753,393.55. This trade represents a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $753.43, for a total value of $11,939,605.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 167,298 shares of company stock worth $116,742,790. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $810.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $822.41.

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.