Geneos Wealth Management Inc. Has $6.69 Million Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,782 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 487 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,692,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 5,066 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,460,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $388,000. Team Hewins LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Team Hewins LLC now owns 27,048 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $13,134,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 11,569 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,618,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares during the period. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 95.6% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 4.1 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $512.70 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $274.38 and a fifty-two week high of $542.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.68. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $491.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $464.99. The stock has a market cap of $1.30 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. Research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on META shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $527.00 to $588.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $480.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $515.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.59, for a total transaction of $291,675.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,813 shares in the company, valued at $18,853,183.67. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, Director Sheryl Sandberg sold 105,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.71, for a total value of $50,054,550.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 630,293 shares in the company, valued at $300,466,976.03. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were 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 valued at $146,060,559. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.