Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stake Boosted by Montag A & Associates Inc.

Montag A & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 95.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,367 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 6,049 shares during the quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $7,128,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 102.6% during the first quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total value of $4,532,440.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 70,040 shares in the company, valued at $46,181,574.40. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total value of $14,296,645.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 1,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $753,393.55. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 153,473 shares of company stock valued at $105,805,440. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $714.80 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $442.65 and a 1 year high of $747.90. The firm has a market cap of $1.80 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.88, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50-day moving average of $691.04 and a 200 day moving average of $640.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.66.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.11% and a return on equity of 38.69%. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.71 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on META shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $828.00 price target (up previously from $807.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Moffett Nathanson upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $735.00 to $795.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $752.33.

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.