Morse Asset Management Inc Has $17.70 Million Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Morse Asset Management Inc lowered its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,705 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 282 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 4.5% of Morse Asset Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $17,697,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $20,230,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,537,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 221,459 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $129,666,000 after acquiring an additional 7,587 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 6,189 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,624,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,243,603,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $714.80 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $691.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $640.92. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $442.65 and a 52 week high of $747.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $1.80 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Roth Capital raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. TD Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Moffett Nathanson boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $752.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.10, for a total value of $371,655.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 26,069 shares in the company, valued at $18,668,010.90. This trade represents a 1.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.48, for a total transaction of $1,691,609.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 153,473 shares of company stock worth $105,805,440 over the last quarter. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

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.