524 Shares in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Acquired by Stephens Investment Management Group LLC

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 524 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $302,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.4%

Meta Platforms stock traded up $2.87 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $704.28. 12,732,316 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,359,049. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 2.66. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $442.65 and a fifty-two week high of $747.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.77 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.47, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.28. The firm's 50 day moving average is $683.85 and its 200-day moving average is $637.15.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.11% and a return on equity of 38.69%. The company's revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.71 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of several research reports. Pivotal Research decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $830.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $736.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,361 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 26,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,225,251.04. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 153,764 shares of company stock valued at $105,721,208. 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.