42,356 Shares in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Acquired by Westend Capital Management LLC

Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 42,356 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,567,000. Meta Platforms comprises about 8.0% of Westend Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC lifted 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 31,493 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $492.14, for a total transaction of $15,498,965.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total value of $4,223,529.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,190,573. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 31,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $492.14, for a total transaction of $15,498,965.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 237,638 shares of company stock valued at $115,205,996. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $565.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.05.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of META opened at $498.91 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $274.38 and a 12-month high of $531.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $478.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $450.54.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. The firm 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Meta Platforms 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.