Wealthstar Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Wealthstar Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,743 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Wealthstar Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of META. Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 18.8% during the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 13,847 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,157,000 after buying an additional 2,189 shares during the period. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,110,000. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 95,302 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $28,611,000 after purchasing an additional 2,456 shares in the last quarter. Holderness Investments Co. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Holderness Investments Co. now owns 4,892 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,469,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Front Row Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 27.2% in the 3rd quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 351 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total value of $50,054,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 630,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $300,466,976.03. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total value of $50,054,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 630,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $300,466,976.03. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,011 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.92, for a total transaction of $1,007,350.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 318,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $159,759,417.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 251,905 shares of company stock valued at $123,528,726. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $509.96 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.29 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50 day moving average of $482.42 and a 200 day moving average of $458.78. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $274.38 and a 52 week high of $531.49. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

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 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 analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on META. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $360.00 price objective on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $511.27.

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.