Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Position Lowered by Gateway Investment Advisers LLC

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC trimmed its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 426,021 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 719 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 2.8% of Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $245,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Valley Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Valley Financial Group Inc. now owns 588 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,743,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,873 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,097,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maiden Cove Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC now owns 481 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 16,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,855,043.68. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.18, for a total transaction of $296,813.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 5,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,744,547.96. This trade represents a 9.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 56,171 shares of company stock worth $35,163,457. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $697.71 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.75 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.17, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.26. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $442.65 and a one year high of $740.91. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $587.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $614.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 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 analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.71 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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 Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on META shares. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $702.48.

Meta Platforms 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.