Morris Financial Concepts Inc. Sells 62 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Morris Financial Concepts Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 6.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 879 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 62 shares during the period. Morris Financial Concepts Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $65,960,215,000 after buying an additional 3,104,550 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 38,054,513 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $13,469,906,000 after acquiring an additional 927,491 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.4% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 36,277,772 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,890,950,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,978 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 34,738,470 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $12,296,383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $11,285,855,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $545.00 target price (down from $600.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Raymond James raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $360.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $511.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,011 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.92, for a total value of $1,007,350.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 318,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $159,759,417.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,011 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.92, for a total value of $1,007,350.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 318,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $159,759,417.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total transaction of $50,054,550.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 630,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $300,466,976.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over 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 Stock Up 0.1 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $504.68 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $480.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $456.83. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market cap 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 52 week low of $274.38 and a 52 week high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 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 $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.