Focus Financial Network Inc. Has $6.91 Million Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 6.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,988 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 739 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,909,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Principia Wealth Advisory LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 53.6% in the 1st quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 86 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of META opened at $694.14 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.75 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.26. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $442.65 and a fifty-two week high of $740.91. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $597.08 and a 200 day moving average of $617.62.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.71 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.30%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $676.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $628.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $702.48.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 406 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.69, for a total value of $199,626.14. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 4,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,265,707.52. This trade represents a 8.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total value of $4,532,440.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 70,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,181,574.40. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 85,682 shares of company stock worth $56,014,018. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

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.