Advisory Alpha LLC Sells 1,914 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Advisory Alpha LLC lessened its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 27.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,005 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,914 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,885,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Suvretta Capital Management LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 170,338 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $99,735,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850 shares during the period. Skye Global Management LP grew its position in Meta Platforms by 130.9% in the 4th quarter. Skye Global Management LP now owns 76,200 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $44,616,000 after purchasing an additional 43,200 shares during the period. Brueske Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $459,000. Apollon Financial LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $866,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 255.9% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,709,694 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,001,044,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229,350 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total value of $4,532,440.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 70,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,181,574.40. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $635.41, for a total transaction of $328,506.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,632,409.58. The trade was a 4.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,664 shares of company stock valued at $35,484,670 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $642.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The company has a market cap of $1.61 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $578.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $610.83. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $442.65 and a 52-week high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.45 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.71 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $750.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $752.00 to $664.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Securities decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $701.05.

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.