CRA Financial Services LLC Buys 344 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

CRA Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,205 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 344 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.4% of CRA Financial Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. CRA Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $8,187,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $19,949,512,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $13,517,178,000 after purchasing an additional 23,417,803 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 78,471.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,248,763 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,658,713,000 after purchasing an additional 6,240,810 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,243,603,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,445,565 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $13,727,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,787,832 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.00, for a total value of $363,819.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,457,283. The trade was a 1.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 85,593 shares of company stock valued at $56,008,477. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $628.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $704.26.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $682.87 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.72 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.26. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $442.65 and a 52-week high of $740.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $604.07 and a 200 day moving average of $619.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) 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 return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.71 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.19%.

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.