Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Increases Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 49.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,151 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 2,692 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,958,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. S.A. Mason LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $645,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. LongView Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. LongView Wealth Management now owns 1,762 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $856,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.6% in the 4th 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 period. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,247 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $648,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Monterey Private Wealth Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.8% in the first quarter. Monterey Private Wealth Inc. now owns 1,379 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $670,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $504.22 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $480.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $454.77. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $274.38 and a twelve month high of $531.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price 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. 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. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $360.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $431.05, for a total transaction of $252,164.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,794,965.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 31,465 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.49, for a total transaction of $15,464,732.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $431.05, for a total value of $252,164.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,794,965.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 233,512 shares of company stock worth $113,597,536. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.