Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Marshall Financial Group LLC

Marshall Financial Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.0% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,242 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 273 shares during the period. Marshall Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,021,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Suvretta Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 170,338 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $99,735,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850 shares in the last quarter. Skye Global Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 130.9% during the 4th quarter. Skye Global Management LP now owns 76,200 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $44,616,000 after buying an additional 43,200 shares during the period. Brueske Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $459,000. Apollon Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $866,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 255.9% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,709,694 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,001,044,000 after acquiring an additional 1,229,350 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $682.87 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $604.07 and its 200-day moving average is $619.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.72 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $442.65 and a 12-month high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The business’s revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.71 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $683.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $735.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $704.26.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 7,802 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $701.96, for a total value of $5,476,691.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,550,434.92. This trade represents a 6.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 406 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.69, for a total transaction of $199,626.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 4,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,265,707.52. This trade represents a 8.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 86,201 shares of company stock valued at $56,377,837 over the last ninety days. Corporate 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.