Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stake Boosted by Financial Security Advisor Inc.

Financial Security Advisor Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,894 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $919,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in META. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 186,349,346 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $65,960,215,000 after buying an additional 3,104,550 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,054,513 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $13,469,906,000 after purchasing an additional 927,491 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.4% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 36,277,772 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,890,950,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,978 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,738,470 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $12,296,383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $11,285,855,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $472.70, for a total value of $194,752.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 15,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,268,235.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $509.10, for a total value of $8,502,988.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 186,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,113,116.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $472.70, for a total transaction of $194,752.40. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,268,235.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 252,395 shares of company stock worth $123,781,816. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.1 %

META opened at $509.96 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.29 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.68. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $274.38 and a fifty-two week high of $531.49. The business has a 50-day moving average of $481.05 and a 200-day moving average of $458.42.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on META. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Needham & Company LLC restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday. Citigroup lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Wolfe Research cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $511.27.

Meta Platforms Company 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.