Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC Has $3.53 Million Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 5.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,131 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 364 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 0.8% of Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,534,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in META. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $19,949,512,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 23,417,803 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,243,603,000. Northern Trust Corp raised 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 acquiring an additional 2,787,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 712.2% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,537,631 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,462,589,000 after buying an additional 2,225,186 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $736.05.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ META opened at $704.28 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.77 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.47, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $442.65 and a 12 month high of $747.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $686.09 and a 200-day moving average of $638.34.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 39.11%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.71 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.50, for a total value of $370,947.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 6,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,892,632.50. This trade represents a 7.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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. The trade was a 4.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 153,764 shares of company stock valued at $105,721,208. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate 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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