Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Acquired by Sunbelt Securities Inc.

Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,646 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,684,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 80.4% during the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $510.88, for a total transaction of $8,532,717.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 230,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $117,737,915.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total transaction of $4,223,529.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 74,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,190,573. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $510.88, for a total value of $8,532,717.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 230,461 shares in the company, valued at $117,737,915.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 233,512 shares of company stock worth $113,597,536. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. BNP Paribas began coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $360.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $480.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $527.00 to $588.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.05.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $519.56 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $274.38 and a 12 month high of $531.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market capitalization of $1.32 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.84, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $479.53 and its 200-day moving average is $452.69.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

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.