Transform Wealth LLC Acquires 483 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Transform Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,548 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 0.9% of Transform Wealth LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Transform Wealth LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $15,301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Fjell Capital LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,836,000. Opulen Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $325,000. Daner Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $334,000. Appleton Partners Inc. MA grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA now owns 26,312 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $15,406,000 after acquiring an additional 951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $20,230,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META stock traded down $0.78 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $693.36. 7,303,916 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,503,798. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $442.65 and a twelve month high of $740.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.74 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $597.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $617.62.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.71 EPS. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $704.26.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.50, for a total transaction of $369,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,446 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,523,445. The trade was a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.87, for a total transaction of $453,012.27. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,498 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,525,441.26. This trade represents a 3.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 86,201 shares of company stock valued at $56,377,837 in the last three months. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

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.