Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by WealthPlan Investment Management LLC

WealthPlan Investment Management LLC decreased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,539 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,287 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.2% of WealthPlan Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $12,414,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $13,517,178,000 after buying an additional 23,417,803 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $2,243,603,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Meta Platforms by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,445,565 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $13,727,613,000 after buying an additional 2,787,832 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 712.2% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,537,631 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,462,589,000 after buying an additional 2,225,186 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $1,162,918,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $822.41.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $767.80, for a total transaction of $11,517,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 222,205 shares in the company, valued at $170,608,999. The trade was a 6.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $765.11, for a total value of $12,124,698.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 289,356 shares of company stock worth $211,138,344. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of META opened at $765.87 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $716.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $652.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $784.75. The company has a market cap of $1.92 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.73, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%. The firm had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.16 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 7.60%.

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.