Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Boosts Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 167,514 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 2.7% of Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $81,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 68.9% during the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 80.4% during the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.75, for a total transaction of $208,369.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 8,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,061,678.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.75, for a total value of $208,369.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,031 shares in the company, valued at $4,061,678.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total transaction of $305,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 38,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,043,756. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 235,757 shares of company stock worth $114,265,610 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on META shares. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $530.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.05.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ:META opened at $494.78 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $478.61 and a 200 day moving average of $449.33. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $274.38 and a 52 week high of $531.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.26 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.42, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Meta Platforms Company 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.