Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Bought by USA Financial Formulas

USA Financial Formulas boosted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 76.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,758 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,633 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 0.4% of USA Financial Formulas' investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. USA Financial Formulas' holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,166,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fjell Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $1,836,000. Opulen Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $325,000. Daner Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $334,000. Appleton Partners Inc. MA boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA now owns 26,312 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $15,406,000 after buying an additional 951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $20,230,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META traded down $0.78 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $693.36. The company had a trading volume of 7,303,916 shares, 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $597.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $617.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The company has a market capitalization of $1.74 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.26.

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, topping 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 company had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.71 EPS. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $735.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $750.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. One research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $704.26.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 475 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $628.25, for a total transaction of $298,418.75. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,272 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,453,384. This trade represents a 4.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.25, for a total transaction of $552,830.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,103 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,269,825.75. This trade represents a 2.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 86,201 shares of company stock worth $56,377,837. Corporate 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.