Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC Invests $319,000 in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 650 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $319,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 80.4% during the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.99, for a total value of $449,775.95. Following the sale, the insider now owns 38,750 shares in the company, valued at $19,258,362.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 31,465 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.49, for a total value of $15,464,732.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.99, for a total value of $449,775.95. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 38,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,258,362.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 233,512 shares of company stock worth $113,597,536. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on META. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $475.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.05.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $519.56 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.32 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $479.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $452.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.68. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $274.38 and a fifty-two week high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

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.