Valley Wealth Managers Inc. Takes $388,000 Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 799 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 8.5% in the third quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,775 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,334,000 after buying an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 180.1% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 902 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 6,174 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,185,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. FCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,105,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 2,423 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $858,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.59, for a total value of $291,675.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,853,183.67. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $441.54, for a total value of $216,354.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 6,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,913,722.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.59, for a total transaction of $291,675.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,813 shares in the company, valued at $18,853,183.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 294,278 shares of company stock worth $146,060,559. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays decreased their target price 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. Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, July 1st. TD Securities increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a report on Wednesday. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Wedbush cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $480.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $515.64.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 4.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $512.70 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.30 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $274.38 and a 12-month high of $542.81. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $491.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $464.99. 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 (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 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.