Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by GraniteShares Advisors LLC

GraniteShares Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 9.0% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,850 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 578 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 2.1% of GraniteShares Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. GraniteShares Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 53.6% during the 1st quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 86 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $682.87 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $442.65 and a 12-month high of $740.91. The company has a market capitalization of $1.72 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $604.07 and its 200-day moving average is $619.26.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.31%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.19%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 7,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $701.96, for a total value of $5,476,691.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,550,434.92. This trade represents a 6.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 406 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.69, for a total transaction of $199,626.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 4,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,265,707.52. This represents a 8.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 86,201 shares of company stock valued at $56,377,837. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on META. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $750.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $735.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $683.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $704.26.

Meta Platforms 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.