Stephens Inc. AR Boosts Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Stephens Inc. AR grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,214 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,595 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 0.7% of Stephens Inc. AR's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $46,232,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,198,005 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $111,948,344,000 after buying an additional 1,502,553 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 49,181,127 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $28,719,970,000 after buying an additional 1,020,519 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,317,434 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $24,777,282,000 after buying an additional 1,049,121 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,317,105 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $23,606,338,000 after buying an additional 1,141,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $19,949,512,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded down $1.50 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $701.41. 11,776,575 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,365,357. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $442.65 and a 1 year high of $747.90. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $681.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $636.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.76 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.28. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 39.11%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.71 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued 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 0.30%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 8.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on META. Bank of America raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $736.05.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,361 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.48, for a total value of $1,691,609.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the business'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 $375,278.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 26,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,225,251.04. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 153,764 shares of company stock worth $105,721,208 over 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.