Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is Private Advisory Group LLC’s 5th Largest Position

Private Advisory Group LLC cut its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 64,440 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 391 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 4.2% of Private Advisory Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Private Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $32,492,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 122.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 95.6% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at about $44,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total transaction of $75,073.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,254,449.63. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total transaction of $75,073.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 124,387 shares in the company, valued at $62,254,449.63. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $476.69, for a total transaction of $431,404.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 42,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,197,355.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 418,680 shares of company stock worth $211,992,147 in the last three months. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $528.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.83. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $502.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $490.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.34 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $276.03 and a 52-week high of $544.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. Analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.5 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-three have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $574.41.

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.