Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Bought by Strategic Blueprint LLC

Strategic Blueprint LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 15.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,376 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,665 shares during the period. Strategic Blueprint LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $7,133,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded up $12.11 on Wednesday, reaching $732.78. The company had a trading volume of 11,398,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,483,554. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $665.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $631.83. The firm has a market cap of $1.84 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.58, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $442.65 and a 52-week high of $747.90. 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 (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 (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 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 firm earned $4.71 EPS. The business's revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $740.97, for a total transaction of $383,081.49. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 7,853 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,818,837.41. This represents a 6.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,361 shares of the company'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 transaction of $1,691,609.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 152,756 shares of company stock valued at $104,720,878 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $735.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Benchmark dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Five 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $727.95.

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.