Ferguson Shapiro LLC Boosts Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Ferguson Shapiro LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 8.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 700 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Shapiro LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $340,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Stone House Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 625.0% during the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 68.9% during the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 80.4% during the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $545.00 target price (down previously from $600.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $565.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.05.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $494.78 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $478.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $447.50. The firm has a market cap of $1.26 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.42, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.68. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $274.38 and a one year high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total value of $305,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 38,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,043,756. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total value of $305,370.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,043,756. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total value of $2,386,617.30. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,272,152.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 313,169 shares of company stock worth $153,344,736 in the last three months. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.