Smith Group Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Smith Group Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 71,496 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 2,432 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 3.1% of Smith Group Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Smith Group Asset Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $41,207,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $716.91 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $442.65 and a 1 year high of $747.90. The stock has a market cap of $1.80 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $658.89 and a 200 day moving average of $630.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.66.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 EPS. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $665.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $676.00 to $807.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $803.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $628.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $719.29.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total transaction of $14,296,645.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at $753,393.55. This trade represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 70,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,181,574.40. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 154,285 shares of company stock valued at $105,518,153 in the last three months. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

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.

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