Kovack Advisors Inc. Purchases 1,408 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 12.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,481 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,408 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 0.7% of Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,060,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $11,285,855,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 11,154.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,952,254 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,752,900,000 after purchasing an additional 4,908,251 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 30,217,175 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,695,722,000 after buying an additional 4,440,229 shares during the period. Concentrum Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 111.0% during the 4th quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 7,391,877 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,616,000 after buying an additional 3,888,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 186,349,346 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $65,960,215,000 after buying an additional 3,104,550 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on META. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. 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. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $511.27.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total transaction of $305,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,398 shares in the company, valued at $20,043,756. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total value of $305,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 38,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,043,756. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $503.08, for a total transaction of $8,402,442.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 204,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,769,182.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 251,905 shares of company stock worth $123,528,726 over the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $509.96 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $274.38 and a 12-month high of $531.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $482.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $458.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.29 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.15 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 0.39%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.