Saxon Interests Inc. Increases Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Saxon Interests Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,409 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.3% of Saxon Interests Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Saxon Interests Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,627,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 80.4% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of META stock opened at $509.96 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $274.38 and a 52-week high of $531.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.29 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.29, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $481.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $458.42.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. On average, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,011 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.92, for a total transaction of $1,007,350.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 318,932 shares in the company, valued at $159,759,417.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,011 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.92, for a total transaction of $1,007,350.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 318,932 shares in the company, valued at $159,759,417.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total transaction of $50,054,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 630,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $300,466,976.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 252,395 shares of company stock worth $123,781,816 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $565.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $480.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $511.27.

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.