Wedmont Private Capital Purchases 2,178 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 45,637 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 2,178 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.3% of Wedmont Private Capital's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Wedmont Private Capital's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $24,807,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of META. Valley Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Valley Financial Group Inc. now owns 588 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,743,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $960,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,873 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,097,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Maiden Cove Capital LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC now owns 481 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on META. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Pivotal Research dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $830.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $702.48.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $697.71 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $587.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $615.18. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $442.65 and a fifty-two week high of $740.91. The firm has a market cap of $1.75 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.17, a P/E/G 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.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. The company 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 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The business's revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.71 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total value of $4,532,440.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 70,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,181,574.40. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $671.00, for a total value of $348,249.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,930,042. This represents a 1.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 56,171 shares of company stock worth $35,163,457. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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