Client 1ST Advisory Group LLC Invests $1.08 Million in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Client 1ST Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,847 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,081,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JDM Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Halpern Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $616.46 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $381.16 and a fifty-two week high of $638.40. The stock has a market cap of $1.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.04, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $598.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $558.31.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 9.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on META. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $811.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $605.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $636.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $641.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $651.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.16, for a total value of $237,128.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 10,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,147,531.12. This represents a 3.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $580.10, for a total value of $524,990.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 31,482 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,262,708.20. This represents a 2.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 531,190 shares of company stock worth $322,938,501. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.