Hickory Asset Management Inc. Sells 282 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Hickory Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 8.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,128 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 282 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.6% of Hickory Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Hickory Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CVA Family Office LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 5,097 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,938,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 297 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $171,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Krilogy Financial LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 18,827 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,851,000 after acquiring an additional 805 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 10,095 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,819,000 after acquiring an additional 1,820 shares during the period. Finally, Opinicus Capital Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. Opinicus Capital Inc. now owns 2,690 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,550,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 406 shares of Meta Platforms 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 4,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.25, for a total value of $552,830.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,269,825.75. This trade represents a 2.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 86,201 shares of company stock valued at $56,377,837. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $683.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One equities 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $704.26.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of META opened at $682.87 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.72 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.55, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.26. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $442.65 and a 12 month high of $740.91. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $604.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $619.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.19%.

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.