HWG Holdings LP Raises Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

HWG Holdings LP grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 37.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 25,406 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,916 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 6.5% of HWG Holdings LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. HWG Holdings LP’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $14,643,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $19,949,512,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $13,517,178,000 after purchasing an additional 23,417,803 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 78,471.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,248,763 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,658,713,000 after buying an additional 6,240,810 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,243,603,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,445,565 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $13,727,613,000 after buying an additional 2,787,832 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 8,312 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $702.13, for a total value of $5,836,104.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 88,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,048,632.36. This trade represents a 8.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total transaction of $4,532,440.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 70,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,181,574.40. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 110,002 shares of company stock worth $73,353,340 in the last ninety days. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.0%

META stock opened at $712.20 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $625.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $624.38. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $442.65 and a 52 week high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.11% and a return on equity of 38.69%. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.71 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 8.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $676.00 to $807.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $705.00 to $640.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $712.69.

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.