PFG Advisors Raises Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

PFG Advisors increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 8.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,772 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 589 shares during the quarter. PFG Advisors' holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 102.6% during the first quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on META. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $845.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $752.33.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $712.68 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.79 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50 day moving average of $692.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $641.57. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $450.80 and a 52-week high of $747.90. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.11% and a return on equity of 38.69%. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.71 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.10, for a total value of $371,655.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 26,069 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,668,010.90. This represents a 1.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $706.41, for a total value of $365,213.97. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 6,302 shares in the company, valued at $4,451,795.82. This represents a 7.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 153,473 shares of company stock valued at $105,805,440 in the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Company 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.

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