Triangle Securities Wealth Management Lowers Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Triangle Securities Wealth Management cut its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 8.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,312 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 487 shares during the period. Triangle Securities Wealth Management’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Madison Wealth Partners Inc raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 1,417 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $502,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Monterey Private Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Monterey Private Wealth Inc. now owns 1,379 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $670,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Grandview Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Grandview Asset Management LLC now owns 8,549 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,151,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 670 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 4,895 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,730,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 77,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $504.82, for a total value of $39,079,125.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 77,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $504.82, for a total transaction of $39,079,125.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total transaction of $305,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,043,756. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 313,169 shares of company stock worth $153,344,736. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $565.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased 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. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.05.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $494.78 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.26 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $274.38 and a fifty-two week high of $531.49. The company has a fifty day moving average of $478.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $447.50. 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 (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

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.