Morling Financial Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Morling Financial Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,646 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 479 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.2% of Morling Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Morling Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,847,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $295,901,000 after purchasing an additional 163,067 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,576,285 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,265,862,000 after acquiring an additional 51,900 shares in the last quarter. Voyager Global Management LP raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 37.3% during the 4th quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 515,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $182,289,000 after acquiring an additional 140,000 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,600,000 after acquiring an additional 5,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 6,101,501 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,962,767,000 after acquiring an additional 748,076 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $524.62 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $505.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $495.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.33 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $279.40 and a 52 week high of $544.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on META shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 price objective for the company. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $562.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $577.26.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total transaction of $17,101,342.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 33,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $517.94, for a total transaction of $17,101,342.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $502.00, for a total transaction of $206,824.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,824,738. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 357,574 shares of company stock worth $185,587,773. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.