Sowell Financial Services LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Sowell Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 14.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,981 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 3,157 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 0.7% of Sowell Financial Services LLC's holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Sowell Financial Services LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $14,398,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of META. Montecito Bank & Trust grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 3,463 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,996,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 7.6% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 444,177 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $256,006,000 after buying an additional 31,378 shares during the last quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 40.6% in the first quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 894 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $516,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.4% during the first quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 35,039 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $20,195,000 after acquiring an additional 4,682 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Conway Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.3% during the first quarter. Conway Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,524 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $4,913,000 after acquiring an additional 1,665 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.8%

META stock opened at $702.12 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $442.65 and a 12 month high of $740.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.77 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.26. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $607.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $620.85.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.71 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities 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 will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be 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 is Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 8.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.00, for a total transaction of $363,819.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,457,283. This represents a 1.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 7,802 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.96, for a total value of $5,476,691.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 110,477 shares in the company, valued at $77,550,434.92. This trade represents a 6.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 84,672 shares of company stock worth $55,455,647. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $735.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Roth Capital raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush boosted their price target 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, Guggenheim increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $706.88.

About Meta Platforms

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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