Strong Tower Advisory Services Sells 453 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Strong Tower Advisory Services reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 49.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 471 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 453 shares during the period. Strong Tower Advisory Services’ holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $271,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of META stock opened at $642.23 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $442.65 and a 12-month high of $740.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.61 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $578.56 and its 200 day moving average is $611.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released 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 return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.71 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.19%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total transaction of $4,532,440.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 70,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,181,574.40. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 406 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.69, for a total value of $199,626.14. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 4,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,265,707.52. This represents a 8.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,056 shares of company stock worth $35,074,903 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Securities reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $701.05.

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.