Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 9.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 189,614 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 15,982 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 0.8% of Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $109,286,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Suvretta Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 170,338 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $99,735,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850 shares in the last quarter. Skye Global Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 130.9% in the 4th quarter. Skye Global Management LP now owns 76,200 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $44,616,000 after purchasing an additional 43,200 shares in the last quarter. Brueske Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $459,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 255.9% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,709,694 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,001,044,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,675,174 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,908,382,000 after purchasing an additional 110,040 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 Platforms stock opened at $733.63 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $638.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $626.48. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $442.65 and a 52 week high of $740.91. The company has a market capitalization of $1.84 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.61, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.26. 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 39.11%. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.71 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $735.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $664.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $719.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $704.89, for a total value of $365,837.91. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 28,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,839,129.05. The trade was a 1.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 13,793 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $710.24, for a total value of $9,796,340.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 57,533 shares in the company, valued at $40,862,237.92. This represents a 19.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 124,831 shares of company stock worth $83,868,872. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

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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