Suncoast Equity Management Invests $26.40 Million in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Suncoast Equity Management bought a new stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 45,806 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $26,401,000. Meta Platforms makes up 3.0% of Suncoast Equity Management's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 53.6% during the 1st quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 86 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META traded up $13.67 on Tuesday, reaching $712.20. 13,806,658 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,499,646. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $625.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $624.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $442.65 and a 52-week high of $740.91. The stock has a market cap of $1.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.78, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.26.

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 firm 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 business's revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.71 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 8.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 8,312 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $702.13, for a total transaction of $5,836,104.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 88,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $62,048,632.36. This represents a 8.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total value of $14,296,645.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 1,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $753,393.55. This trade represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 110,002 shares of company stock valued at $73,353,340 in the last three months. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Truist Financial upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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. Benchmark lowered 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. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $712.69.

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.