Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Position Raised by Salvus Wealth Management LLC

Salvus Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 15.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,145 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Salvus Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $660,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.93, for a total transaction of $333,428.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 9,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,398,350.53. This trade represents a 4.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $595.00, for a total transaction of $547,995.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,649,280. The trade was a 2.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,652 shares of company stock valued at $34,815,208 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $687.95 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $583.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $613.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.73 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $442.65 and a 12-month high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.71 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Pivotal Research reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $830.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $702.48.

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.