CWA Asset Management Group LLC Buys 814 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 51,580 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 814 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.4% of CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $29,729,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. LifeWealth Investments LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 60.7% during the 1st quarter. LifeWealth Investments LLC now owns 2,528 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,457,000 after acquiring an additional 955 shares in the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 12.7% during the first quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 6,782 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,909,000 after purchasing an additional 764 shares in the last quarter. JBR Co Financial Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. JBR Co Financial Management Inc now owns 4,071 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,346,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. White Wing Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at about $314,000. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 376.8% in the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 108,432 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $63,383,000 after purchasing an additional 85,691 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:META opened at $695.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.75 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.26. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $442.65 and a 52-week high of $740.91. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $615.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $622.60. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.11% and a return on equity of 38.69%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.71 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued 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 of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Moffett Nathanson lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Roth Capital upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $710.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 8,312 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $702.13, for a total value of $5,836,104.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 88,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,048,632.36. This represents a 8.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $614.97, for a total transaction of $373,901.76. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 6,838 shares in the company, valued at $4,205,164.86. This represents a 8.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 110,512 shares of company stock worth $73,590,232. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.