JT Stratford LLC Raises Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

JT Stratford LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,863 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 707 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.4% of JT Stratford LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. JT Stratford LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $8,702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $635.50 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.60 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $573.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $608.00. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $442.65 and a 1 year high of $740.91.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total transaction of $3,334,383.52. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 16,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,855,043.68. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $628.25, for a total transaction of $324,805.25. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 10,955 shares in the company, valued at $6,882,478.75. The trade was a 4.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 80,161 shares of company stock worth $51,551,150 over the last three months. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on META shares. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $752.00 to $664.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $750.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $701.05.

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.