Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Position Decreased by Synergy Asset Management LLC

Synergy Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 22.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,354 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 11,539 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 3.2% of Synergy Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Synergy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $19,110,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 1,945 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $944,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 26.8% during the first quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 18,316 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $8,894,000 after buying an additional 3,868 shares during the last quarter. Iams Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 135.9% during the first quarter. Iams Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $998,000 after buying an additional 1,188 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,345,256 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $653,229,000 after buying an additional 8,090 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WESPAC Advisors SoCal LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 43.6% during the first quarter. WESPAC Advisors SoCal LLC now owns 2,858 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,388,000 after buying an additional 868 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $530.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Piper Sandler restated 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. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company 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 issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $511.27.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 74,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,190,573. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $472.70, for a total transaction of $194,752.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 15,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,268,235.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.85, for a total transaction of $4,223,529.35. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,190,573. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 218,086 shares of company stock valued at $106,423,370 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $509.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $480.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $458.05. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $274.38 and a 1-year high of $531.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.68. The stock has a market cap of $1.29 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.21.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. On average, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.49%.

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.