Walter Public Investments Inc. Makes New Investment in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Walter Public Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 20,115 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $11,593,000. Meta Platforms accounts for 2.2% of Walter Public Investments Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total transaction of $14,296,645.65. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 1,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $753,393.55. This trade represents a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 13,793 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $701.13, for a total value of $9,670,686.09. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 118,279 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,928,955.27. This represents a 10.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 152,263 shares of company stock worth $104,638,750. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on META shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $812.00 target price (up previously from $683.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $729.38.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.5%

META stock traded down $10.53 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $710.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,425,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,735,748. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 2.66. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $677.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $635.41. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $442.65 and a 1 year high of $747.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.79 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.71, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.28.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.69% and a net margin of 39.11%. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.71 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

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.