D.B. Root & Company LLC Reduces Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

D.B. Root & Company LLC lowered its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 9.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,209 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 420 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 0.7% of D.B. Root & Company LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. D.B. Root & Company LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,044,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 68.9% in the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 80.4% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $540.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $570.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $472.70, for a total transaction of $194,752.40. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 15,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,268,235.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $472.70, for a total transaction of $194,752.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 15,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,268,235.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $485.00, for a total transaction of $283,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,983 shares in the company, valued at $18,906,755. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 201,557 shares of company stock valued at $97,894,296. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $504.22 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $480.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $455.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $274.38 and a one year high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 11.49%.

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.