Aviance Capital Partners LLC Buys 3,562 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 19.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,254 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,562 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.6% of Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $10,806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.96, for a total transaction of $8,600,861.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 213,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $109,690,084.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $516.51, for a total transaction of $253,089.90. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,167,719.19. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.96, for a total transaction of $8,600,861.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 213,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $109,690,084.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 218,086 shares of company stock worth $106,423,370. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $504.68 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.28 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $480.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $456.83. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. The company had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Shareholders 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 currently 11.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $511.27.

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.