Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. Reduces Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,866 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 96 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 2.4% of Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,276,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,285,855,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 11,154.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,952,254 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,752,900,000 after acquiring an additional 4,908,251 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 30,217,175 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,695,722,000 after acquiring an additional 4,440,229 shares in the last quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 111.0% in the fourth quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 7,391,877 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,616,000 after acquiring an additional 3,888,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 186,349,346 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $65,960,215,000 after acquiring an additional 3,104,550 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $504.22 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.96, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $274.38 and a twelve month high of $531.49. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $480.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $454.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion for 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, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $565.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $360.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $510.88, for a total transaction of $8,532,717.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 230,461 shares in the company, valued at $117,737,915.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $510.88, for a total value of $8,532,717.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 230,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $117,737,915.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $485.00, for a total transaction of $283,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 38,983 shares in the company, valued at $18,906,755. 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 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.