Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by 4J Wealth Management LLC

4J Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 6.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,647 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 0.7% of 4J Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. 4J Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $949,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valley Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Valley Financial Group Inc. now owns 588 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,743,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Maiden Cove Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC now owns 481 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Riverwater Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 572 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, ABLE Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC now owns 2,136 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,251,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 2,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.48, for a total transaction of $1,691,609.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $740.97, for a total transaction of $383,081.49. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 7,853 shares in the company, valued at $5,818,837.41. This represents a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 152,756 shares of company stock valued at $104,720,878 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $640.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $665.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $750.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $808.00 price target (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $724.98.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $720.67 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $665.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $631.83. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $1.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $442.65 and a 52-week high of $747.90.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its 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 net margin of 39.11% and a return on equity of 38.69%. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.71 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.19%.

About Meta Platforms

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.