LS Investment Advisors LLC Buys 7,137 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

LS Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 58.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,371 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,137 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.7% of LS Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. LS Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $11,165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of META. Fjell Capital LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $1,836,000. Opulen Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $325,000. Daner Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $334,000. Appleton Partners Inc. MA grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA now owns 26,312 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $15,406,000 after buying an additional 951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $20,230,000 after buying an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 406 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.69, for a total value of $199,626.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 4,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,265,707.52. This trade represents a 8.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total transaction of $14,296,645.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 1,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $753,393.55. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,652 shares of company stock worth $34,815,208 in the last quarter. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $687.95 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $583.27 and a 200-day moving average of $613.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.73 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $442.65 and a twelve month high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.71 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.31%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on META shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Needham & Company LLC restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Pivotal Research reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $830.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $702.48.

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.