First Foundation Advisors Raises Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

First Foundation Advisors increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,020 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 472 shares during the period. First Foundation Advisors’ holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $9,722,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 80.4% during the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on META. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Wedbush reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $480.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirty-six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $519.10.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded up $0.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $476.79. 15,149,416 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,694,282. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $493.41 and a 200 day moving average of $471.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.21 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.39, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $274.38 and a fifty-two week high of $542.81.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion during 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%. On average, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.21 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 1,712 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $502.27, for a total value of $859,886.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 129,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,238,845.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 1,712 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $502.27, for a total value of $859,886.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,238,845.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total value of $287,381.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,288,255. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 311,106 shares of company stock worth $154,542,945. 13.71% of the stock is owned by 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.