Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stake Increased by Permanent Capital Management LP

Permanent Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,891 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 0.3% of Permanent Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Permanent Capital Management LP’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $671.00, for a total value of $348,249.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,930,042. The trade was a 1.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total transaction of $4,532,440.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 56,171 shares of company stock worth $35,163,457. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of META opened at $697.71 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.75 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $442.65 and a 12 month high of $740.91. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $587.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $614.84.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.71 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 8.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Moffett Nathanson raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $750.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $702.48.

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.