Heritage Wealth Advisors Decreases Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Heritage Wealth Advisors trimmed its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 13.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,784 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 277 shares during the quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 80.4% in the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META traded down $27.80 on Wednesday, hitting $461.99. The stock had a trading volume of 27,713,150 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,248,516. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $274.38 and a one year high of $542.81. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $1.17 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50-day moving average is $493.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $469.47.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. On average, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Roth Mkm raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” 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 assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $518.50.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $530.81, for a total transaction of $218,693.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 6,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,388,160.23. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $431.05, for a total transaction of $252,164.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,794,965.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 412 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $530.81, for a total transaction of $218,693.72. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 6,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,388,160.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 308,979 shares of company stock valued at $153,474,852 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

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.