Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stake Cut by Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC

Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 124 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.2% of Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,017,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $561.35 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $279.40 and a 1 year high of $564.50. The company has a market cap of $1.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $506.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $496.78.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $577.26.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total value of $75,073.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 124,387 shares in the company, valued at $62,254,449.63. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $2,663,825.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 11,990 shares in the company, valued at $6,315,852.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total transaction of $75,073.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 124,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,254,449.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 356,426 shares of company stock worth $185,053,425. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.