Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Acquired by Winch Advisory Services LLC

Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,317 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.1% of Winch Advisory Services LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Winch Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,217,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 102.6% during the first quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $712.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $1.79 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.80, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $450.80 and a 52 week high of $747.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $692.48 and a 200-day moving average of $641.57.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.11% and a return on equity of 38.69%. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.71 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $812.00 price objective (up from $683.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $750.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $752.33.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total transaction of $14,296,645.65. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,183 shares in the company, valued at $753,393.55. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 70,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,181,574.40. This represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 153,473 shares of company stock valued at $105,805,440. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.