Lutz Financial Services LLC Buys 31 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Lutz Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 856 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Lutz Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $416,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth about $44,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.87, for a total transaction of $8,916,696.74. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 151,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,104,462.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.87, for a total value of $8,916,696.74. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 151,918 shares in the company, valued at $81,104,462.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total value of $4,223,529.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 74,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,190,573. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 294,768 shares of company stock valued at $146,314,257. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $534.04 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $490.20 and its 200 day moving average is $464.66. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $274.38 and a fifty-two week high of $542.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.71, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.68.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Wedbush decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $480.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $545.00 target price (down previously from $600.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given 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, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $515.64.

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.