Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC Has $23.47 Million Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 4.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,713 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,949 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 0.6% of Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $23,465,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in META. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total transaction of $4,532,440.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 70,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,181,574.40. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief technology officer owned 1,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $753,393.55. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 153,184 shares of company stock valued at $105,128,004. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock traded up $3.41 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $720.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,913,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,437,846. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $442.65 and a twelve month high of $747.90. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $674.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $634.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.28. 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 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.45 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.71 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Moffett Nathanson upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $665.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Truist Financial boosted 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. Finally, TD Securities decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $729.38.

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.